


Gift or Curse

by CIRaccon



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Aro is not so bad, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Mild Smut, Minor Violence, Romance, because - you know - vampires, but Charlie is my Demetri, more the books than the movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:24:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 47,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22346878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CIRaccon/pseuds/CIRaccon
Summary: "I was sure my parents had grieved for me, by an empty grave in Greece, but I would not go there to check. They would not understand, because one other thing I had learned about myself was that I did not change. I would forever be twenty-one."As Ariadne begins her new life and goes to Italy in search of answers, she finds more than what she hoped for.
Relationships: Demetri (Twilight)/Reader
Comments: 20
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Every once in a while, I get an urge to read all the Twilight books, or watch all the movies. the last time I watched the movies with the books next to me. This time however I wasn't wooed by the romance between the two main characters.  
I somehow have a thing for handsome villains, so I guess it was only a matter of time before I ended up with Demetri and his missing story.  
So, here it is, my fanfiction about Twilight.  
I don't own anything, the great Stephenie Meyer does. All credit to her, who created my handsome hero, but lots and lots of kudos to Sean, Rene and Joseph for casting Charlie Bewley. He might not look like the Demetri described by Stephenie, but he was the one who inspired this story.  
Hope you'll enjoy and I'd love to hear from you.

The most defining thing that changed when becoming a vampire, was time.

At first, time seemed to flow just as fast as usual, or faster, especially in the first few days after I was turned. When the excruciating pain ate at me from the inside and there was nothing I could do about it, except wait and scream. What it meant to be turned I learned very quickly after my assumed creator told me why he had taken my life away.

“Control yourselves!” He had shouted, amidst the terror. “There is a war coming and I need you to fight for me.”

It had scared me so much, that, even though my lust for blood nearly drove me insane, I was able to run away from him and hide far, far away. My legs, that suddenly seemed to be made of nerveless steel, carried me, without pause, into the deep forest of Canada. The blood lust had to be sedated, but there was nothing around me, but animals. Their heartbeats a steady rhythm, until they became aware of me. Even though I knew what had been expected of me, I had not yet tasted human blood and I quickly found that animal blood also eased my thirst. It smelled awful at first, but there was nothing else around and I had to drink.

“I am so sorry”, I murmured at the deer that lay at my feet. My new voice sounded sweet, like a lullaby. Not belonging to the monster that I had become.

In the days that followed, I discovered the gifts that my new life – if you could call it that – had to offer. Incredible speed and perfect vision were among them and I taught myself to stay away from area’s where people came. Humans, as I came to call them, feeling I was no longer one myself.

Under the thick cover of leaves and branches, I learned that I could not cry over the family I had lost. My parents, that would never really know what had happened to their daughter so far away from home, and my little sister. Even though the memories were somewhat dim, they still hurt.

All of a sudden, my quest to discover myself within the short period of time I had between studies, had turned into a lifelong sentence to do exactly that. And I did. I learned things I never knew were inside me. Like patience.

I became a creature of the forest, a hunter, never a prey. Never alone, but often so lonely I ran to the brink of a city, only to hastily turn away, after smelling the blood of so many humans. It took me a few years, until I was certain enough that I would not kill an innocent, but by then all searches for me had seized. I was sure my parents had grieved for me, by an empty grave in Greece, but I would not go there to check. They would not understand, because one other thing I had learned about myself was that I did not change. I would forever be twenty-one.

\---

The first time I dared to be among people, was five years after I was turned. Saying goodbye to my forest was difficult, but it was time for me to learn about what it meant to be a vampire.

My choice of location had some risks, but it was the only place I knew there could be others like me. After all, it was the place where I had been bitten.

In the middle of the night, I raided a store to replace the scraps of clothing that had barely covered me the past years. A simple blue dress with long sleeves and some leggings were all I really needed. But when I was outside again and realized people would stare if I went out like that in the fall, I hurried back inside and took a coat, shawl and cap. Boots might also be a good idea, so I grabbed a black pair. Then my search began.

Only to come up empty handed.

No matter where I looked, how much I sniffed the air and how long I waited, Seattle seemed to be void of vampires. Where was the one that had created me? Had he died in the war, he had known was coming? If that was the case, I was glad I had left. If the many screaming, struggling and fighting new vampires that I had seen for a blink of a second, were indeed all dead, I was happy not to have fought with them.

But then the question arrived, whom had they fought? And where were they now?

I set of to the neighboring towns. One by one I searched them, looking and listening, until, finally, I caught a scent.

\---

The little town was called Forks and it seemed innocent enough, except for the fact that next to the flowery smells of immortals, there was a nasty odor that almost made me leave again. I kept to the forest, stayed away from the houses and looked everywhere, until my presence became known.

Not by other vampires, but by a wolf that could impossibly be a wolf. It was much to big and it looked at me like I was prey.

I frowned. Up till now, all animals had run away from me. Catching them was easy, but none remained standing like this enormous monstrosity. My brain told me I should run away very fast, but after living in the forest for years, being somewhat of an animal myself, I could not bring myself to run.

Very slowly, I opened my hands and said: “I am not going to hurt you? Can you understand me?”

The big, brown wolf didn’t move, not even his ears.

“I think you can. You are not afraid of me.”

Talking after such a long time of silence ought to have had some effect on the throat, but the sound of my voice was still as lovely as ever.

Should I ask if he could help me? The idea seemed ridiculous, on the other hand, the animal didn’t seem so surprised to see me and if he was intelligent, he must know that I was no human. My smell should give me away at least.

Figuring it couldn’t hurt, I asked: “Can you show me others like me?”

This time, the wolf responded. His ears moved back and forth and he softly whined. But his paws stayed in one place and soon I found out why. Two other massive wolfs appeared at his sides, but these two were a lot less silent.

Their growls made me step back and raise my hands even higher. “Wow, easy, I won’t hurt you.”

The two newcomers remained hostile, but the brown one relaxed his stance a bit. He even made a sound that seemed a lot like a chortle. The almost white wolf on his left, barked a short bark at him, but that didn’t seem to phase the brown one.

I was right, they were intelligent.

“I know I must scare you, but you seem to know what I am, right?”

“Yes, they know.” A new voice suddenly rang. From quite a distance, but I could here her, anyway.

It wasn’t long before I could hear leaves rustling and footsteps running. Two, no, three pairs, moving fast.

If I still had a heartbeat, it would rise, knowing I was about to meet new vampires for the first time. The brief exchange of information I had shared with the boy in Seattle all those years ago, hardly counted as a meeting.

Two, three seconds passed and there they were. A brunette, seemingly a little younger then myself, a bronze haired boy, just as young, but with eyes that looked like they’d seen the world and a huge, burly young man whose age was impossible to read.

For a moment all that was heard was the wind and the quick heartbeats of the three wolves.

“Who are you?” The girl asked, her eyes a lovely amber. Completely different from the eyes I had seen when I had first opened my eyes to my new live.

“Ariadne”, I answered.

“From what coven are you? We didn’t know there were others like us nearby.”

“Other vampires, you mean?”

This time the boy next to her answered: “No, vampires who don’t drink human blood.”

I scrunched my eyes. “How do you know that?”

The girl cocked her head and pointed at her eyes with sort of a half smile. “The eyes. Didn’t you know?”

For five years I had not looked in a mirror and the few times my reflection had been caught in a stream, I had not dared to look at my face. Afraid of the red. The most clear sign that I was no longer who I once was.

Looking at the eyes of the three vampires in front of me, I wondered if maybe my eyes weren’t that awful, scary color of the only food I could still have.

“Where do you come from?” The girl now asked, her brow furrowed and her head cocked in confusion.

“I lived in Northern Canada for the last five years.”

“Alone?”

“Eh, yeah.” That seemed to raise a few eyebrows.

“And before that?”

There was something in the young boy’s eyes that made me wonder if he knew more then he let on.

“Before that I was a careless traveler that made a quick stop in Seattle before continuing to Vancouver.”

At this, the girl shot a glance at the boy and he gave a small nod. It was so tiny and so fast that only superhuman eyes caught it, but wasn’t that my new description?

“It’s okay guys, she won’t be a problem. We’ll take her with us.” The boy spoke to the wolves and one at a time they left, stepping backwards. The brown one was the last to leave and I couldn’t keep myself from waving as he sort of grinned my way.

“Seth says: see ya”, the boy chuckled.

“His name is Seth?” I asked, looking at the bush where the huge wolf disappeared in.

“Yes, and my name is Edward Cullen. This is my wife, Bella and my brother, Emmet.”

“Your wife?” I echoed, shocked. They looked merely old enough to vote, let alone be married.

The girl, Bella, looked a bit embarrassed, but the big guy laughed out loud.

Before anyone could comment, Edward said: “Come, back to the house.”

They took off, almost at the same time, and I followed. When we got closer and closer to the town, I got more and more nervous. Until I remembered that these were no ordinary vampires. Not like the one’s from the stories, the one’s I’ve been created amongst. These golden eyed vampires lived on animal blood, just like me. Was that why they could live so close to humans? There were so many questions running through my mind. I couldn’t wait to ask them.

The house we ended up at was still a few miles away from the main town and it took me a few whole seconds to take everything in. And that was saying something. It was huge. Did they live here with just the three of them?

That unspoken question was answered when the front door opened and three more vampires appeared. Two of them were a little older than the others, but not nearly old enough to be called their parents. And yet, that was exactly what Edward did.

“Mom, dad, this is Ariadne, she came from the Yukon. Ariadne, my parents, Carlisle and Esmee, and my sister, Rosalie.”

Rosalie was stunning, but what shocked me was that the big dark haired Emmet, who was supposed to be her brother, jumped up and pulled her in an embrace that was absolutely not brotherly. Or else it was very wrong.

Edward chuckled again and I pulled up one eyebrow.

Carlisle was the one that explained the situation. “They call me their father, but I am merely their creator. For the humans here we are a family, they are my adoptive children.”

“Don’t people find that weird, that your children all marry one another?” I heard myself asking, and then I bit my lip. Or at least, I tried. Luckily I could no longer blush, no heat crept up my cheeks.

“Yes, they do, and that’s why we have to move from time to time. You are lucky you came here today, a few day’s later and you would have found the house empty.”

“Shall we go inside?” The small dark haired woman, Esmee, asked and suddenly everyone seemed to remember manners.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess liking Demetri makes me dislike Edward a little ... sorry ^^

“Forgive me, please, do come in.”

I shrugged, it didn’t really matter to me where I stood. I hadn’t been inside a house in a long time and felt a little strange walking up the few steps of the porch.

The living room was one big area, easy lounge chairs and soft sofa’s were situated around a large TV. Several smaller sitting area’s made it possible to play chess, or read a book without being disturbed. The glass wall offered an amazing view outside, but what caught my eye was a young girl standing beside an other of those massive wolfs. She was no vampire, but not completely human either. Her hand rested on the neck of the wolf, that looked at me like the white one had done.

“This is our daughter, Renesmee”, Edward said, walking over to the girl, while holding hands with Bella.

At that, my believe drew a line. There was simply no way that someone as young as Bella, could, even in her human life, have had a daughter that was around thirteen years old. Or did she have the baby thirteen years ago? That would make a little sense. Just a little. I needed explanations and looked at Carlisle, the only one who had offered me some of those up till now.

“Yes, I know, it’s very complicated. Sit down, I will try to explain it as best as I can.”

Sitting down in a chair had been so long ago, that it took me a while to feel comfortable.

“When Bella was still human, she was married to my son, Edward. She became pregnant, even though none of us even knew that was possible. She barely made it, but was turned right after Renesmee was born and as you can see, she’s doing perfectly well.”

“So, Renesmee is half vampire?”

“Yes. And she is only a little over four years old now. It seems that a human-vampire life only needs seven years to reach maturity.”

I came here to learn about vampires, but apparently there was a lot more to that world than I first thought. For example, who were those wolves and what was their connection to the family. I couldn’t imagine that their smell was any better for them than it was for me.

Edward chuckled. Again.

“What’s funny?” Emmet yelled, from his seat on the sofa, where he was watching a football game.

“Edward”, Carlisle’s voice was stern as he eyed his so called son, “it’s not polite to keep a guest in the dark.”

The grin disappeared and was replaced by a sincere apologetic look. “Forgive me.”

I was quite willing to forgive, if only I knew what I was forgiving. His face was all scrunched up now.

“How to explain this”, he began. “You haven’t been around vampires, so you cannot know this. When we are turned, every aspect of our human life either gets diminished or enlarged. Memories fade, former relationships as well, but certain … trades, can be amplified. Turn into something more.”

He paused a fraction of a second and continued: “In my human life, I was always very conscious of other people’s minds, like I could anticipate what they were about to say, like I could read their minds. When I was turned, I suddenly could.”

I needed a few seconds, just enough for his words to sink in. Then I shook my head.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“It’s the truth.”

“It’s impossible.”

“Try me.”

There really wasn’t much else to do for me than think about random stuff and of course he picked everything right out of my brain.

After the fifth example, I yelled: “Alright, alright. I believe you. Just … not. Alright? You shouldn’t read people’s minds. There is this thing called privacy.”

Emmet whooped without looking and the wolfs face got a little less angry. Even Bella smiled and I wondered how it must be for her to live with a husband like that. Blessing or curse?

“I actually can’t read her mind, she has a shield that keeps me out”, Edward mumbled. I wanted to berate him for doing it again, but the meaning of his words distracted me.

“You have a superpower too?”

Bella smiled. “It’s not really a superpower.”

“Yes it is”, Edward interjected, looking at her with a love that made me want to give them some privacy.

“But you are right. It was rude of me. Please forgive me.”

They were all very polite in this family. It made me wonder how old they really were.

I saw Edward open his mouth and close it again, which made me almost giggle.

“It is necessary, however, to determine whether someone is a threat to my family. Especially now that Alice isn’t here.”

“Who’s Alice?”

Somehow that name made everybody relax. Esmee answered: “She and her partner Jasper are also part of this family. They are on a trip now, somewhere in Australia I believe.”

“And she has a superpower too?”

“It’s not a superpower”, Bella repeated, but everyone ignored her comment.

“Alice … can see the future.”

“Come to think of it”, Emmet said, as he turned his massive upper torso our way, “she could have called us. Give us a heads up. I’m sure the wolfs would have liked that.”

“Alice is on a vacation.” Carlisle admonished. “I’m sure she would let us know if there was danger, but I specifically told her not to call for every little thing that could happen here.”

I agreed, even though I really couldn’t believe that anyone could see the future. Perhaps someday I would see for myself.

“So, any others with powers I should know about? Or is it just this family?”

“Oh no, I wish.” Emmet replied, turning the sofa towards us with very little effort. Rosalie still sitting on it. Apparently the game was finished.

“There’s lots of vampires around the world and most of them aren’t very nice.”

“Emmet.”

“What?” He responded to Esmee’s warning. “It’s true. The red eyes are a lot less friendly than we are. Whatever you do, don’t go to Italy.”

As he failed to give me any explanation after that, and began to talk about places I should definitely visit, I rolled my eyes and turned towards the others. Edward was the one most willing to share his knowledge. Of course he was the only one who was aware of the true reason I sought them out in the first place.

In the middle of Emmets elaborate description about some place in Milwaukee, Edward said: “There is only one coven that you need to be aware of. They are the one’s with the most power in our world.” There was an edge to his voice that silenced everyone at once. As if there was a common memory they all shared. And it wasn’t a nice one, considering Bella’s hand that reached for her daughters. There was a story there, but that would have to wait until another time.

“They are called the Volturi and they live in Italy”, Edward continued. “They are not like us. They do feed on human blood and their masters are extremely old. Thousands”, he elaborated, when I thought how many years meant extremely. The answer made my mind go blank.

Vampires existed for thousands of years? Would I live that long? What would the world look like in a thousand years? Or even a hundred? It was mind boggling.

“And … and they have gifts?” I was afraid to hear the answer.

“Many of the most dangerous ones.”

“Like what?”

He was hesitant to tell me, but I demanded: “Tell me, I want to know.”

He sat up a little straighter and began to sum up a list that made me shiver, even as I could no longer feel cold.

“Cause pain, cause numbness, read minds, read bonds, enforce bonds, shield, strength-”

“Alright, alright, I get it. The first one would have been enough, thank you.” Cause pain. Somehow it sounded worse than the mere infliction of a bruise. Considering vampires couldn’t actually bruise.

“And don’t forget our tracker”, Emmets sneer again gave me the feeling there was a story there, but this time Carlisle put a stop to the conversation.

“There is no need to elaborate on all the negative sides of these ancients and their guard. I know you don’t want to hear about it and I have not forgotten what they tried to do four years ago, but I feel it is my duty to also point out that they are not all bad. There is a need for upholding the law for our kind and for many thousands of years they have kept our identity a secret from the humans. These laws are necessary.”

“What laws?” Nobody told me about laws. Should I know them?

I raised my eyebrows, but Carlisle frowned. “Did your creator not explain them to you?”

Edward coughed and this time I frowned at him. Again he seemed to know more about me, so I gave him a nod and he replied for me: “Victoria created her.”

Apparently this was enough for everyone to completely understand my situation, but to me it made my past even more unclear.

“I was created by a boy, not a girl.”

“Well”, Edward looked my way again. “Not exactly. Riley, the boy, was in charge of the army, but he was creating it for her. She was the one who bit the victims he brought to her, but none of the newborns ever saw her.”

Newborns, that word I understood without explanation. It had sure felt that way, after waking up from the nightmare of the transformation.

“You were very strong to have been able to run away from Seattle. Even more to be able to live on the blood of animals. It gives me hope for the future as newborns develop more of a conscience.”

“He means Carlisle and me”, Bella interjected. “We both have a clean record, just like you.”

At my confused look, Carlisle explained: “We never fed on a human.”

Ah.

“So, it is not possible to drink from a human, and let him live?”

“Not that I am aware of”, Esmee softly spoke. “Human blood is like the most delicious food you have ever tasted, while having been starved before. Tasting it …” She didn’t go on.

Somehow it was hard for me to picture the tiny, sweet woman with her big caring eyes, killing a human being for their blood.

“Perhaps we should change the subject to one, less gruesome?”

Suddenly a new voice startled me. My head whipped back to where not a moment ago, Renesmee had been sitting with the russet wolf. The wolf was gone and from the door to what seemed like the kitchen from this point of view, came a boy that topped even Emmet in height. He was so different from the vampires, that I couldn’t keep myself from staring. His skin was dark and incredibly warm, I could feel it from over here. His heartbeat was fast, faster even than that of the child. And even though he looked completely human, I was instantly sure he wasn’t. Not entirely.

“Ariadne, meet Jacob. Friend of the family and leader of the pack you’ve met before.”

“Pack?”

“The wolves. Jacob is a shape shifter.”

“Riiight.”

Renesmee giggled. A happy, bubbly sound, that made me want to laugh along.

“I’ll give you a demonstration some other time”, Jacob grimaced. I had the feeling he wasn’t completely sure about me, yet.

After that, nobody said anything for a while. Emmet and Rosaly got up and left to who knows where and Esmee disappeared into the kitchen, where I heard her making something. Probably for Jacob and Renesmee, since none of us had to eat.

The sound of pots and pans brought back a memory of my mother, busy in her little kitchen with the yellow painted walls and flowery curtains.

I guess Edward couldn’t really help himself, because he asked me: “You come from Greece?”

Perhaps there was no off-switch.

“Or wasn’t that Greece? I’m sorry. I’m kind of hardwired to a new mind. I’ll get used to ignoring your thoughts when you are here a while.”

“That is, if you want to stay, of course. You are more than welcome to.”

I looked at Esmee, who walked out of the kitchen with a dish she set on the lovely old dining table. Jacob grumbled a friendly thank you and dug in. Renesmee joined him at the table, but didn’t eat. Would she drink blood? Like her parents?

My mind took me back to the offer Esmee had made, but I frowned as I remembered something. “Weren’t you leaving soon?”

“Yes, we have a house in Alaska. A few of us are enrolled in the university over there. We were actually supposed to have started four years ago, but something came up.” Edward smiled at his daughter.

Yes, that would keep someone out of school, I suppose.

“So, you are welcome to come with us, if you’d like.”

Esmee’s smile made me yearn for my mother all of a sudden, but I quickly buried that feeling. I swallowed, a meaningless gesture, which gave me hardly any respite, but then shook my head.

“You are very kind, but I’ve seen enough of the snow and trees for some time. I think I will try to find that coven in Italy.”

Carlisle was the only one who didn’t jump up at my remark and I even heard a hiss coming from somewhere upstairs.

“Why?” Bella asked, alarm in her eyes.

“That really isn’t a good idea”, Edward piped in, after having read my mind, again. It would be nice to be away from that. I saw him cringe a bit and felt a pang of remorse at my thought. But on the other hand, it was my thought. Serves him right for eavesdropping.

I squared my shoulders and looked at Carlisle, when I said: “I heed your warnings, I do. But there is so much I have to learn and I feel that with them I have a very good place to start.”

He nodded slowly and lifted his hand when Edward opened his mouth to object. “You are correct. They do have a lot to offer if you seek knowledge. You have nothing to fear from them. Especially when you remain honest and open. Aro can only read your mind with a touch and others will see you have no attachments or ulterior motives. You will probably be tested when it comes to mealtimes, but I am sure they will accommodate you.”

“Carlisle, it is too dangerous.”

“They will not harm her when she is merely there to learn. Even untrained she has followed our laws to perfection, they will find no fault in her. If you want, I will accompany you there.”

“No!” The objection came from several mouths and I could not for the life of me accept his offer. Even though I didn’t understand why they were so hostile.

“We-”

“No Edward”, Carlisle raised his hand again. “What is done, is done, let her go without fear.”

All eyes were on me now, looking concerned, pained even. It strengthened my decision to leave and I saw Edwards expression falter. Like he failed somehow. It made me feel bad, but I really wanted to go and find out what vampires that had lived thousands of years even looked like.

And it brought me a bit closer to home and I wanted to go home. I realized that now, seeing this family. Even though I knew I could never really go to my family again, Italy was close enough to lighten the burden a bit.

I stood up. “Thank you”, I said, with as much conviction as I could master. I really was grateful. They made me believe I could do this vampire thing the same way I had done for the past five years. They made me feel less alone and gave me a new purpose.

“I will never forget your kindness. Perhaps I will visit again in the future.”

Carlisle walked me to the door, handing me a map and enough money to get me to Italy without having to swim the ocean.

“Travel by night, wear scarves and gloves. Blend in and … stay safe. It was good meeting you.”

I smiled bravely, understanding why they all saw him as a father and nodded.

After a final ‘thank you’, I left.


	3. Chapter 3

Being among so many humans was strange, to say the least. It felt uncomfortable at first, thirst hitting me in the face with a jackhammer, but I got used to it. It had helped to feed before I ventured out into the world of taxi’s and airplanes once more. Miraculously, my passport still worked. I hadn’t realized that could have become a problem until I was at customs. I sucked in my breath and tried to keep the shock of my expression as I watched in terror as the woman behind the counter scanned my document.

I exhaled and smiled exuberantly, causing the pour woman to stumble while standing still. Apparently my parents didn’t think I was dead.

However, knowing that they still had hope I would turn up one day, hurt me more than thinking they had peace with my demise. And what would the knowledge of me using this passport do to them? Would they find out? I needed a new identity after I arrived in Europe. Perhaps my new friends could help me there. For now, I got on the plane without any questions asked.

At the first stop I barely dared to use my passport, but I really didn’t want to swim across the ocean. The man that checked my data halted me, when a warning appeared on his screen.

“Hold up, please, I have to check something.”

I scrunched my eyes, looked over my shoulder as inconspicuously as I could and then leaned forward.

“There is nothing the matter, You have to let me pass without sounding the alarm”, I begged in a frantic whisper.

The man straightened up, looked at me in a daze and quietly approved my passing. My eyebrows shot up as I saw how he deleted the warning and smiled at me like a child who was sure he had made his mom proud.

When I arrived in London, I ditched my passport and traveled the rest of the way on foot. It only cost me a few days. There was enough forest to hide and feed in without anyone noticing between England and Italy, so when I finally arrived at the doorstep of the beautiful village of Volterra, my eyes were a bright gold and I felt optimistic. I’ve made it this far, I was sure they wouldn’t turn me away.

\---

It was quiet in the night as I calmly walked through the streets of the town that somewhat reminded me of home. The plaster on the walls of the lovely homes had a sandy color by day, now everything was gray. At least for a human eye. I could see every facet of the plaster on every house, even a mile away and my brain stored all the information with room to spare. I knew I would be able to store an entire library of information in there and hoped fervently that these Volturi indeed had a library.

The scent of vampires lingered in every street, yet my feet automatically pulled me toward the large cathedral like building at the top of the hill. I wondered who would come to greet me and if they would want to help me.

All of a sudden, two dark figures appeared in front of me, seemingly out of nowhere, but my senses had picked them up a little before their feet hit the cobblestones, so I wasn’t too shocked to see them. They were both so huge that Emmet seemed small in comparison. I wondered if even the wolf Jacob could match their heights.

None of us spoke at first, should I begin? What if they didn’t speak English? I could try Greek, but my Italian went no further than pizza and _grazzi_.

“Ehm… Do you speak English?”

An offended huff told me they did. Yeah, if these vampires were indeed very old, they probably had learned many languages. I studied their faces for a minute, but saw nothing that could indicate their age.

I sucked in a deep breath, not because I needed it, but because it felt like the thing I would have done if I was still human. My five years in solitude had not taught me to give up those little human trades.

“I am looking for the Volturi.”

“Why?” The smallest one, his skin a strange shiny brown in the moonlight, asked.

“I wish to learn and I understand they are the eldest of our kind?”

As I looked from one grim face to the other, I was beginning to wonder if these brutes could actually help me. They looked more like bouncers to me.

“Can you take me to someone who can actually help me or are we going to stand here until the sun comes up?”

“Tsjk tsjk tsjk,” a new voice came from behind and I quickly swirled around. This vampire was different. His skin was lighter as was his hair. And he wore a smile on his face that took my breath away.

Vampires were dazzling, I had learned that quickly after meeting the Cullens, but none of them could compare to this young man. He seemed not much older than me, but appearances were deceiving in this world. He stood there as a matador, one hand behind his back and chin held high.

Hoping my astonishment wasn’t showing, I waited for him to speak again and he did. His voice a rich velvet. It would have given me goosebumps.

Right now I kind of missed these human emotional responses.

“Volterra is a peaceful town, we don’t want to make scene now, do we?”

I shook my head automatically. But then I pushed the enchantment away from me. I needed a clear head, after all the Cullens seemed to be terrified of these creatures.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t come here to make a scene”, I replied, using his own words. Perhaps I would just have to tell them the whole reason I came here. Didn’t Carlisle warn me to be truthful?

So I said: “I was created in Seattle, but lived in Canada for the last five years. When I was sure I could walk among humans without killing anyone, I started to search for others, looking for answers. I found a coven in Washington, they told me about the Volturi, so here I am.”

There was a crease in his eyebrows after hearing my story. “You met the Cullen clan?”

I nodded.

“And they sent you here?” Unbelief was clearly audible in his words.

“Well, no. Actually, they warned me not to come, but I wanted to.”

“So you are not a part of their clan?”

It took me but a missing heartbeat to reply with a negative to that question. “No! I couldn’t live with that constant peaking in my brain.”

The handsome vampire with his classy dark gray coat, chuckled and his clear red eyes sparkled. “I know what you mean. You don’t have an accusation about them?”

I frowned. “Ehm, no.”

“That’s a shame.”

All of a sudden the biggest vampire behind me said with a heavy voice: “If you don’t have a complaint, you have no business here. Go back to where you came from.”

“But-” I started to say, yet was interrupted by the one in front of me.

“Felix”, he hushed the giant, “she comes in search of knowledge. You heard her, she has been alone from the day she was created, she at least needs to be instructed about our laws.”

Looking over my shoulder, I wondered whether I should be grateful or suspicious that the young one seemed to want to help me. The look he gave me was rather flattering, but I didn’t want to be distracted.

“She should find her creator and ask him. It is their responsibility.”

“I don’t think he is still alive. I searched for him, or … her, I don’t exactly know who made me this.”

“Then she should be destroyed. As the law says.” The brown skinned man looked smug as he said it and panic rose like bile.

“What?” I yelled. “No, I haven’t done anything. I haven’t hurt anyone, I’ve never killed a human in my life.”

I turned back to the one that seemed to want to help me, but he was suddenly very near me, his hand covering my mouth and his lips near my ear. I held my breath.

“Shh, we won’t kill you when there is no cause.”

I moved my head up and down, trying frantically to nod and silently promise not to shout again. His face stayed close to mine for a few seconds more and I could feel him inhale my scent. Then he slowly let me go.

“We will take you to the ancients, they will decide your fate.”

I exhaled and allowed him to take my arm and guide me the rest of the way. The shortest of the two guards remained behind, while the one whose name was Felix, followed us.

They took me deeper and deeper into the town, until we came by a square with a large fountain. Under the clock tower was a locked door, but my guide opened it and ushered me through. Inside, it was dark. Light enough for my vampire eyes to see, but humans would be lost in here. At top speed, he then pulled me through a network of tunnels until it dazzled me and finally we halted in front of two enormous doors.

I was curious, now I finally had the time to study my surroundings. From the inside it looked like a castle, with dark wooden panels and heavy metal studs. The corridor alone gave me enough to distract, with it’s arches and statues, so I almost missed the knock and the ‘come in’ that followed.

When the doors opened, my mind reeled. The room was enormous, a big round glass ceiling, convincing me I had to be in the largest tower I had seen on top of the hill. It was beautiful, but since I was never much bothered by architecture, it couldn’t hold my interest very long. Especially when my eyes fell upon a group of people gathered round a table in the corner of the room. The table was full of books and my eyes lit up. See, I had come to the right place.

All the men and women in the room wore the same dark cloaks, as if old age made you reject color. That they were old, I didn’t have to guess. Even my inexperienced eyes saw the thin, papery skin and red eyes covered with a milky film that made me think they were blind.

“Demetri, what have you brought us today?”

I was startled upon hearing the raspy voice, almost too soft to be heard without vampire ears. My guide released me, which, strangely, left me feeling bereft. Demetri was his name. It sounded Greek, I liked it.

“We found her walking outside, she claims to be looking for the Volturi in order to learn.”

Claims? How so, claims? I was speaking the truth. I threw a sneer in his direction, but he was staring straight ahead. Composed and guarded and extremely taut all of a sudden, one hand behind his back. All appearance of charm and ease was gone. It made me weary.

The one who spoke now moved towards me and it was as if he was flowing. The cloak hid his feet, but his movement was so fluent I had to concentrate to keep my eyes at his face and not stare at the black cloth that hardly moved.

“She is not a Cullen?”

“She claims she isn’t”

Again with the claims.

I opened my mouth, ready to speak for myself, but was interrupted by the strange eyes, that now focused on me. What was it again, that Edward had said about the powers of this coven? Mind reading was one of them. I really hoped it wasn’t going to be like with him. Peeping Tom.

“Will you give me your hand?”

My hand? Did he want to shake it? I shrugged and extended it.

The ancient one took my hand and held it as if he was caressing my skin. He closed his eyes and hummed.

“I see, quite remarkable”, he whispered after a few seconds.

Suddenly Carlisle’s warning about one named Aro resounded in my mind and I shouted: “Stop that, let go!”

The old man released me with a slight jolt and took a small step back while I continued, more than a little annoyed: “What is it with you people, reading minds without any concern for privacy. You could just ask me anything you want to know. I have no secrets.”

Only then I realized the room had gone completely silent. Even more so than before. No breaths and no heartbeats, but this time also no rustling of fabric or paper.

“Interesting”, the old vampire said, with a stronger voice than before.

What was interesting? I furrowed my brow.

Without a word, he took Demetri’s hand in his. He repeated the process of closing his eyes and concentrating, and fascinated besides feeling rather perturbed, I saw how my guide allowed it without as much as a twitch.

There was an odd kind of smile on the old mans face when he opened his eyes, and this time, Demetri did react. Just the tiniest movement in his lips, that only showed a fraction of unease. And then it was gone. He didn’t look at me and I wondered what it was that made the ancient vampire grin.

“Ariadne, I would love to hear more of your time in the woods, all by yourself. But as you see, we are kind of busy. Demetri will show you to the library and help you with whatever it is you need.”

Because I was still looking at Demetri, when the old one, whom I now for certain knew to be Aro, due to his mind reading, spoke, I could see the surprise in the young mans face as Aro mentioned my name. And his eyes widened even more after hearing his commission.

He didn’t object however and merely nodded.

A little confused, I mumbled: “Thank you”, and followed Demetri when he left the room.

We didn’t speak as he guided me through an other series of passages. This time at a slower pace. My mind was still reeling from all the impressions. The location, the vampires, the strange direction the conversation had gone. What exactly had Aro meant by instructing Demetri to assist me? Merely to point me to where it was or what not to touch? Or was it more than that, it had sounded like more to me.

It had already become very clear that everybody in the room absolutely obeyed this ancient vampire without question. I had felt the power and the certainty with which Aro wielded it.


	4. Chapter 4

The library turned out to be almost larger than the one in Athens and I had been completely impressed when I was there years ago. Yet, this library seemed to be much, much older. Immaculate glass display cases showed works that were too brittle to handle. Scrolls made out of parchment or papyrus, their content barely readable. Books with leather bands probably as old as the ancients themselves. I was sure I wouldn’t be able to touch those. I wouldn’t even dare.

Lucky for me, the walls of the large underground space were filled with rows and rows of normal looking, modern books and enthusiastically I blazed towards the first cabinet. I’ve always liked to read and five long years I had to do without the stories I loved so much. For a minute I forgot why I had come here, and indulged in flipping through novel after novel. My reading speed was incredible, although I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, I was able to do everything else much faster now. It wasn’t until I rounded the corner that I saw Demetri was still in the room. He had taken a seat in one of the comfortable armchairs and put his feet up on a side table. Away from the ancients, he seemed his charming self again. He was looking at me with a funny look and since I had to begin my quest for answers somewhere, I walked toward him with caution and lowered myself into the second armchair, still felling a bit strange sitting down without necessity.

I decided to ask. “Why do you sit down?”

He misunderstood me. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I meant, why do we have to sit? It’s no effort to stand, so …”

“Ah”, his frown disappeared and he smiled again. “It’s all part of the game. The ruse we keep up for the humans, to be able to blend in.”

That made sense. There had been no need for me to keep up appearances in the forest. He seemed to guess my thoughts, and asked: “You were alone? For the past five years? Why?”

“I had no choice. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

A look of supremacy brushed over his face and he replied: “A few humans less, where is the harm in that?”

“You’re joking, right? We used to be one of them. I have friends and family out there, I wouldn’t want anyone to hurt them.”

He eased back from his slightly more interested posture and sighed: “You are so young. In time they will all become one and the same. Merely the blood we need to sustain ourselves. A necessary evil.”

Would I really see it that way in a few decades? When everybody I knew was dead and buried? How long would it take me to go from caring to indifferent?

“How old are you?” The question escaped me before I could reel it in.

He chuckled once and then answered: “Do you really want to know?”

I huffed. “That’s why I asked. What? Are you a few hundred years old or something? You hardly seem old enough to come close to Aro and the others.”

“No”, he moved forward again, staring at me intently with those scary eyes, “I’m not that old. I wonder, if it would disturb you to know.”

I couldn’t look away, his gaze held me captive. My mind went blanc and for a moment I forgot what we were talking about. Suddenly this young man, as much a boy in my eyes as I was still a girl, not quite ready to gather myself as a woman, seemed ageless. There were no creases in his face, no lines or wrinkles. There was nothing to tell that he was any older than mid twenty. Yet suddenly I could see how, in fact, it were many, many years that had formed this vampire, who no longer measured life by human standards.

“You áre old, aren’t you”, I whispered and for a brief moment his expression became fragile.

Seconds turned to centuries, and then he finally answered: “I was born into the noble family of the Komnenos in the Byzantine Empire.”

I scrunched my eyes. A history book about that era had yet to pass my reading list. “That … sounds like it’s a while back?” I stated it as a question and saw his lips curve into a smile.

“Somewhere around the year one thousand. Give or take a decade.”

I did the math. And then I did it again. I blinked. He smiled, patiently indulging me in getting a grip on the enormity of what his answer meant.

He was from Greece, just like me. Only his Greece existed and perished long before my parents great great great grandparents were even born.

Somehow, looking into his eyes, that had seen a millennium of changes, all I could think about was that he was from Greece, just like me.

“You are Greek”, I whispered.

He threw his head back and laughed. The lovely sound echoed between the book covered walls and made my apprehension dissipate.

“Wow, you really áre old. That is so weird. I must seem like a baby to you. How much you have seen. Have you traveled the world? You must have. I was on my way to cross the States and Canada, but I got sidetracked.”

He laughed again. “You call this, being sidetracked?”

“Well, yes. I guess one day I will finish that journey. As soon as I learn all the laws I need to uphold and find a way to get a new passport or something.”

“Ah yes, the tedious necessity of papers. I must admit I do have a preference for the more elegant ways of travelling. Swimming the ocean feels so … primitive.”

I agreed. That, plus the idea kind of freaked me out. Stories of sea monsters, vague, due to human memories, still lingered in my mind and even though I knew I could probably fight my way out of the belly of a whale, I didn’t really want to find out.

Demetri stared at me for a little while and I wondered what he was thinking. The mind of a vampire worked so fast, he had to be thinking a whole lot. My own was remembering every city I had been to since the moment I began my journey. As well as all the cities that had been on my to-go list. Volterra hadn’t been on there, but I liked the addition. I also thought about the places in Greece where I had been and the little I knew about the history of my home country. He had lived through all that. My eyes widened a bit and she saw Demetri lift an eyebrow.

“You have lived the history I only learned about in school”, I explained.

“Ah, yes, bit’s of it, I’m sure. I reckon they don’t teach vampire history in class.”

At that I chuckled. I liked this relaxed version of the guard. Not the one of whom I saw a glimpse in the tower room. The one seemingly without a will of his own. Stiff and obedient and unable to oppose those in power. This Demetri laughed more, was charming and acted human. Or human-ish, at least.

“Why were you turned?” I was curious. I was created because Riley and the faceless Victoria needed an army. It had been my understanding that most vampires just killed a human when they met one, why would anyone willingly turn one?

Demetri leaned back, pondered for a moment and then nodded, as if he decided that he could trust me with a secret.

“When I was young, I met an Egyptian man. He was in hiding, but I saw him one day and followed him. After the third time I found his hideout, he left the country and I didn’t see him again until my twenty-first year. I saw him from across the marketplace and he looked at me, as if he was challenging me to find him again. I did and he told me about this forever life I could have if I was willing to join him.” He paused a fraction of a second and then continued. “I was the youngest son and there was always a threat of war. I relished in the opportunity presented to me and took it. He turned me, thought me, helped me to better myself, but then a new opportunity arose and I left.”

“The Volturi?”

“Yes, they offered me this prominent place in the guard. I have never looked back, since.”

There was one thing that I couldn’t yet figure out. From what I learned about the Volturi, they were hellbent on power and had many vampires with gifts in their midst. Was Demetri one of them? Why else would he be invited to join them? But was it a question I could ask? Would he tell me?

I guessed there was only one way to find out, so I asked: “Do you have a superpower?”

I quickly explained myself, thankful for the fact that I no longer fumbled my sentences. “The Cullens told me the Volturi had many powers. Aro can read minds with a touch. Can you do something special? Is that why they asked you to join?”

His brow had furrowed when I mentioned the Cullens. So, the love lost there was mutual. Part of my brain wondered what had happened four years ago. But then he smoothed his face and nodded once. I held my breath, what would it be? Was he the strong one? Somehow that seemed to be more the department of the large Felix, but appearances could be deceiving.

“Can’t you guess? I kind of already told you.” He winked at me and the vampire equivalent of a raised heartbeat caused me to bite my lip.

I let his short story about himself play in my mind over and over, until a small piece of the puzzle moved to the right corner. He had been turned after having found the vampire. Finding.”

“You are the tracker”, I whispered with a shock. “The one the Cullens hate so much. Why?”

That last word slipped my tongue and his eyes darkened again.

“Sorry,” I hastily interjected, “that is none of my business.”

Demetri’s expression softened a bit and he shrugged once. “I guess they see me as a threat. I can find anyone I even came in contact with, directly or through others. Even when they are hiding on the other side of the world.”

Somehow the thought that he would, from now on, always be able to find me, send a shiver through my body. But it wasn’t entirely an unpleasant shiver. If I could have blushed, I would have.

Confused by my own emotions, I jumped up and moved back to the bookcases. I roamed the room for a while, keeping out of sight, but as if to illustrate his ability, Demetri followed me after a few minutes. Soundless he crept up until he was so close I could smell the subtle fragrance of his skin. It strangely reminded me of melomakarona, my favorite dessert. It made me homesick and kept me from responding to his proximity until his nose almost toughed my neck.

When he inhaled deeply, I jumped sideways away from him. “What are you doing?”

“Ariadne.”

The sound of my name rolling over his lips like a delicacy, made me bite my lip again.

“There is something familiar about you, I’m trying to make out what it is.”

“I thought that would be obvious”, I stated and when his eyebrows raised expectantly, I said: “We’re both from Greece.”

He hadn’t known that, I could see the surprise in his face. There was also delight and that eased the unsettling nerves I had felt when he came so close to me.

“I haven’t been home in a very long time”, he mumbled and moved closer again.

I allowed him to come nearer and asked: “Why not?”

“My masters also originate in Greece. There no longer reside vampires and we do not hunt there.”

With great relieve I exhaled and my grateful smile made Demetri take another step closer.

“You have nothing to fear from me”, he breathed, as he lifted his hand to tuck a stray lock of my hair behind my ear.

\---

We were interrupted when the door opened and an unfamiliar face appeared.

“Yes?” Demetri asked, irritated.

“Aro requests your presence and that of signora Ariadne.”

The vampire disappeared as fast as Demetri’s irritation.

I asked: “Why do you call him master?”

He took my hand and pulled me with him, back to the tower room as he answered curtly: “Because he is.”

The sensation of his hand in mine made me giddy, but he released me right before knocking on the large doors and I hated how all the charm and openness disappeared. He was once again the composed guard and I sighed. He eyed me a fraction of a second, but then the doors opened and he looked straight ahead.

We walked in, seeing the scene had somewhat changed. The table was now empty and Aro was now sitting in the middle one of three chairs that stood like thrones in the center of the room. I looked a little better at the men who held the power and noticed for the first time that if they hadn’t had their papery, translucent skin and filmy eyes, two of the three actually seemed very young. Only the one with the shockingly white hair was older.

Aro spoke first. “Ah, signorina Ariadne, have you found what you were looking for?”

I actually felt guilty as I realized I had only been talking with Demetri about his life instead of looking for the answers I had come here for. My eyes betrayed me as I glanced in the direction of the vampire beside me, who never looked my way.

Somehow Aro seemed to know, because an amused smile appeared. “Perhaps you would like to learn about our laws by seeing them in action?”


	5. Chapter 5

My first inclination was to readily agree, but then I saw Demetri stiffen and I became weary. Nevertheless I moved to stand behind the thrones as Aro pointed with a friendly gesture. Demerti moved with me. His motions a little more rigid than usual. Didn’t he want me to see this?

The first case presented to the ancient vampires who ruled our kind, was a dispute about coven borders. Aro took the hands of the parties concerned, one after the other and quickly spoke his verdict. I couldn’t see why Demetri was so tense.

I stood and listened as a vampire couple made a request to turn a young human woman because they wanted to form a family. The girl in question was shaking with fear, especially when Aro took her hand in his. He deliberated with his fellow rulers, whom he called brothers, and when I saw the white haired elder lick his lips, a small tinge of fear crept up my spine. Luckily consent was given and the three left, professing their undying thanks and joy.

Demetri, beside me, had loosened up a bit, but when the third case was presented, he grabbed my hand suddenly and went rigid. I looked at him, alarmed, but his eyes were focused on the three men now entering. It was Felix and an other I didn’t know. Between them they restrained a man who looked like he was crazy. His eyes were wild and more red than I ever saw. He was growling like an animal and his clothes were torn from struggle. Felix and the other moved the man close and offered Aro one dirty hand, that clawed and flexed like he wanted to reach out and tear something apart.

The sight terrified me and I moved an inch closer to Demetri, whose hand tightened around mine.

I could hear Aro sigh: “Who is his creator?”

“We don’t know, we found him making a mess near the border of Switzerland”, the giant answered.

Aro touched the dirty hand, a little different than the other times. As if he didn’t want to get himself dirty. I didn’t know what he saw, but the second he opened his eyes, he turned his head towards Demetri and I thought I understood why he reacted the way he did. He was the one who would have to hunt down the vampire who had made this crazy newborn. How long would he be gone?

I wanted to look at him, but didn’t. Aro’s gaze lingered a second on our joined hands and somehow that made him smile. I wished for a moment I could read his mind.

The next thing that happened eradicated all my previous pleasant thoughts and caused me to grasp the real reason Demetri had taken my hand.

Aro moved behind the newborn in a flick of a second, took the head in both hands and turned it. With a horrifying _plop_, the head was pulled from the body the same time Felix and the other man ripped both arms away. My mouth fell open and a strange tingly sensation burned behind my eyes. Like tears of shock that wanted to emerge, but couldn’t.

The hand that had held mine was joined with an arm around my wast, but it was not necessary. The only thing I wanted to do at the moment was turn and hide. Forget what I had seen, what I would never be able to forget again. Demetri’s arms allowed me to turn and as I hid my face against his broad shoulder, his hand soothed my trembling back.

I didn’t want to see anything else. I wanted to leave, run away, hide between the peaceful books.

Behind me, Aro’s soft voice drifted our way, allowing us to leave and within a second Demetri had pulled me through another door on the far side of the room. I was immensely grateful that he took me this way and not past the man that now lay in pieces. Up till now I hadn’t known a vampire execution looked like this. I hadn’t thought about dying at all. Immortality had become a lot less certain.

It wasn’t until we were indeed back in the library, when I found my voice again.

“Does … does that happen a lot?”

We were standing in the far corner of the large chamber, Demetri’s arms were still around me.

“No,” his velvet voice soothed me, calmed my nerves, “but it does happen. Newborns who aren’t trained and cause havoc, are to be terminated along with their creators. It is part of the law that keeps us hidden.”

I understood the reason, really I did, but still the vision that kept playing in my mind over and over, was one I could absolutely live without.

“Is that why Felix wanted to kill me, when we first met?”

A nod was all I received as answer and placing one hand over his heart, I whispered: “Than I am very grateful you were there.”

He stiffened a little and then lifted my head with his finger until I could look at his face. His lips were on mine before I could fathom the expression in his eyes and one whole second I froze.

A million thoughts and feelings whirled though my body. Wild surges of desire, mixed with incredulity and aghast endeavors to try to keep me from kissing him back. When his arms pressed me closer to him and a low rumble rose up from his throat, slowly all intelligence left me.

Suddenly the idea to live a thousand years seemed like heaven to me, cause there was no way I ever wanted this moment to end.

All notion of time disappeared until a short knock brought the world back.

That one tiny knock on the heavy wooden door made me thoroughly aware of what we had just done and shock took over the muscles in my face.

“Coming!” Demetri said, no louder than when we spoke in the library. He looked at me, scrunched his face and stepped away from me. Breaking the cocoon we had unwittingly spun around us.

When his gaze fell on my dress, his expression turned apologetic.

“Wait here”, he said and left the room.

I looked down and gasped. My dress was torn at several places, when had that happened?

No more than a minute passed, in which I could not stop to wonder what had come over me. Sure, I had kissed a guy before, but never like this and certainly not after I was turned. There was nothing I could compare the experience to and yet I felt it really wasn’t to be compared to anything. Even though I now felt all the unease and dismay I would have imagined I’d feel after kissing a stranger in a public library, my body betrayed me. I wanted more. I wanted Demetri back, close to me. His lips on mine, his hands kneading through my hair.

Lust balled together in the pit of my stomach and when he finally did return, I jumped into his arms that immediately dropped the new dress he had carried.

When my hands pulled at the fabric of the heavy gray coat he wore, he grabbed them and stepped back. A very deep sigh left his lungs as he looked me over and I could clearly see the longing and regret that he couldn’t kiss me again.

“I need to go”, he said, his voice rough. “I will be back within a week.”

There was a question in that sentence that clearly stated: will you be here? I could do nothing else than nod and he relaxed. At the very least I needed to talk about this. What it meant, if it even meant anything. A week had seemed long when I was human, but for a vampire, even one with my limited experience, it should be but a heartbeat.

He kissed me one last time, quickly and softly, and then left. Slowly I picked up the outfit he had dropped on the floor. The dress was beautiful. A rich burgundy with lace in the color of steel wool. Like the lapels of the coat he wore. A possessive emotion spiraled through me as I put it on. Did he pick this dress on purpose?

After I fixed my hair with my hands I looked around me. Was there anybody hiding behind the shelves? Snickering, or perhaps aghast? How many passionate embraces had been given in here over the years? How many by him?

My weak human mind felt jealousy towards all women with whom he might have shared this, or other things. My more realistic side told me that in a thousand years, he could have hardly held this kind of passion back. I would not ask him. It did not matter.

A large, gilded mirror ensured me there were no traces of passion left in my countenance. No flushed skin, no swollen lips. At most a little too wide eyes with a little too much sparkle. I would stay away from people until I was sure I was composed again.

For the next few hours I spent walking down empty corridors, admiring the art, wondering who actually lived here and where they were right now. Could I go to the large hall, uninvited? Should I find someone to point me in the direction of something to do? In the end I halted and sighed. This was going to be a very long week.

\---

Deliberately walking as slowly as possible, I retraced my steps back to the library. His smell of honey and cinnamon lingered everywhere I went and caused turmoil inside me. I needed to control myself, for all I knew this was just a one time thing he didn’t wish to repeat. Even though his last expression told me otherwise, I had to be careful.

The library was not empty this time. The youngest of the three ancients now set in the chair Demetri had been sitting in. I felt anger at his disruption of my perfect memory, but then I saw the deep creases in his brow and felt sadness. It had made me wonder before, what had happened to this man that had caused him to be this heartbroken? For that it was more than mere boredom, I could instantly tell.

He didn’t look up, as I came close, so I coughed to a non existing itch. “Excuse me, Is it okay if I joined you?”

The response was a slow nod.

I quickly scanned the nearest books, picked one and sat down in the opposite chair.

The book was quickly finished, but as I moved to get another one, the young ancient finally looked up.

With a soft, raspy voice, he asked: “I am glad the execution did not scare you away. These things are not pleasant, but they are …”

“Necessary?” I offered.

“Yes”, he breathed.

“It would have been nice if someone had prepared me for it, but I guess I understand.”

A few moments of silence filled the air between us. Little specks of dust whirled around us as we moved the air by speaking.

“I am happy for you and Demetri.”

He didn’t look happy, but that was not what shocked me. How did he know? Was there some vampire equivalent to the afterglow that I couldn’t see? Shame burned my face, even though there was no blood that could turn it red.

A minute smile crept up his face, causing the brittle skin to crease. He probably didn’t smile very often.

I was relieved when he explained himself. “Like Aro, I too have a gift. I can see the bond between people, even before they understand it themselves.”

My eyebrows shot up.

“You are surprised. Do you not feel it? The pull? The want to be near him?”

My eyes moved away from his, embarrassed, but also strangely glad. It was the conformation I had wanted. The insurance Demetri would come back to me.

I looked back and nodded. His small smile came back.

“Excuse me, may I ask your name?”

At that he almost laughed. “Forgive me, I had forgotten how little you know. My name is Marcus.”

He took a deep breath, as if so much talking caused him much effort. “Aro you know and my third brother is called Caius.”

“Are they … are they really your brothers? You look so different.”

He shook his head in a slow fluent motion. “We call ourselves that, we live as a … family. I guess only Aro can be called a real brother after I married his sister.”

The smile disappeared and was replaced by an intense sorrow that instantly made me want to cry.

“What happened?” I whispered.

“She is lost to me.”

The answer came as a breath of death and after that I dared not ask another question. Marcus closed his eyes and tuned everything out and I quietly stood up to leave him be. I instantly understood why he always looked so sad and broken. He had lost his wife. If their relationship had been anything like the brief passion I had just shared with Demetri, I could perfectly understand how he would be miserable for the rest of eternity. It made my heart constrict. The pain must have been immeasurable.

A few more books filled my head with knowledge of plants and animals native to this part of Italy, but then I left the library. The atmosphere was simply to grim.


	6. Chapter 6

Again I had no idea where else I could go, so I wandered a few hallways, glad to finally see another soul as I rounded a corner. At first I thought it was a child. Pale brown hair, tied with a black bow, a short skirt and the most impossible face. Like a perfect porcelain doll. The only thing that did not add up, was the look in her eyes. Perhaps they once had been icy blue, now they were as red as anyone’s. As if she was looking at vermin, she made to walk away, but I needed directions, so I stopped her, asking: “Wait, please. Can you help me, I think I’m lost.”

A sneer appeared on the pretty face. “You do not belong here.”

The high pitched voice that matched the face completely, startled me for a moment. “Ehm… no, but I am only here to visit and learn.” Was that still true? The bond Marcus mentioned, my hunger for Demetri’s presence, would they make it impossible for me to leave? Time would tell.

“Go back to the library, then. Do what you came here for and leave us be.”

I wanted to like her. She was so pretty and petite, but it became very difficult to even stand her. Perhaps I should wander some more until I ran into somebody else.

“Marcus is in there, he … I didn’t want to disturb him.”

The annoyance lessened a bit, but the sulkiness remained. Perhaps she was hungry, her eyes were a bit dark.

“Look, all I’m asking is that you point me in the direction of somewhere I can hang out and wait or talk to someone. Then you can continue to sulk or go feed, or something.”

I regretted my words almost immediately. The tiny porcelain doll face scrunched up in anger and suddenly my brain was on fire. Pins and needles were stabbing me from the inside and I screamed.

“Aaarg.” I fell to my knees, my head whipping back and only through slits I could see her smiling vengeful.

“Don’t. Aargh. Stop it!” I yelled from the top of my lungs. And just as quickly as it had come, the pain disappeared. Panting heavily, I could see the girl staggering backwards, as if an invisible force had pushed her. Her eyes opened wide and a hiss escaped from her throat. However before she could take a step closer to me, Aro’s voice drifted our way.

“Peace, young ones. Jane, this is no way to treat a guest.”

The little girl immediately lowered her face and mumbled: “Forgive me, master.”

“You are excused, I will guide Ariadne.”

Jane bowed her head again and disappeared.

I jumped up from the place I was crumbled on the floor. “Thank you very much. I don’t know what happened.” I did know this Jane was the one Edward had spoken of when he’d mentioned causing pain and I also knew I never wanted to meet her again.

“Jane is very … young. Perhaps too young to have been turned. Her temper sometimes gets the better of her, but”, Aro flowed past me and smiled like a father berating and excusing a most beloved child, “her powers do bring so many advantages. I guess I am quick to indulge her.”

“Indulging, fine, but this was uncalled for. I’m happy you made her stop.”

Aro chuckled. “Oh, no, child, I was not the one who stopped her. You are quite able to handle yourself.”

My frown made him chuckle again.

“So amusing, when one doesn’t know themselves. Follow me, I will show you where you can … hang out?”

I did as he bid and tried to mimic the fluent manner of walking as we went through yet another part of the castle. I wasn’t very good at it.

It wasn’t until we rounded a second corner, after a few stairs, that I noticed we weren’t alone. Two cloaked figures moved close behind us. I wanted to warn Aro, but then he stopped in front of a door. When he turned and saw my alarm, his eyebrows shot up.

My hand pointed backwards and again Aro laughed. “My bodyguards. They never leave me.”

Did he need them inside his own home? That was rather alarming. He opened the door and allowed me to go in first. The room we entered looked a little like a drawing room from the Victorian Era. Little tables between small sofa’s and comfortable arm chairs, in which sat a variety of vampires. A large fireplace with a blazing fire heated the room from its centerpiece. Many incredible paintings hung on the walls and in the back I could see several easels, most with canvasses on them. I relaxed as I took in the many colors of this room. It was as if every color that had been missing from the passages and the large tower hall, had been brought together here. This room was lighter, happier.

“Sit down, let me introduce everyone. I have been dreadfully negligent there.”

I took a seat, starting to get used to the posture and watched Aro as he drifted from one to the other, naming names and explaining relationships. My impossibly large mind stored every bit of information with ease.

There were two wifes. A dark haired one, Sulpicia, who was Aro’s and a the fair haired Athenodora, the wife of Caius. Both had the same powdery skins as their husbands. Corin was a woman who seemed to keep the wives company. At the moment she was painting, but I received a friendly nod as her name was called.

Guards stood silent at every entrance and were apparently not important, as Aro didn’t mention them at all. The last figure was Caius himself. The oldest looking vampire in the room and the one who scared me the most. His look equaled Jane’s and somehow I knew he disliked me just as much. Yet he stoically ignored me and that was fine by me.

Outside, a crescent moon fought the darkness and I guessed this was how the Volturi spend their nights when there was no law to uphold. Would Demetri be here if he was home? I saw no one of the others I had seen before. No Felix or Jane, or one of the many vampires that assisted today during the trials. Perhaps this room was only for the family, as Marcus had called it. That would probably mean this would be the only time I was invited.

“Tell me”, Aro spoke, directing my attention back to him, “did Demetri explain our laws to you?”

If I could have blushed, my cheeks would have turned a dark shade of red. Nevertheless Aro seemed to understand and chuckled. At the raised eyebrows that were now directed his way, he explained: “Ariadne here has had quite the impact on our Demetri. It pained me to have to send him on a mission, but I am sure he will make haste to return.”

I looked down at the dress I wore, thinking about the reason I had to change. Soft laughter erupted around me and I sighed embarrassed.

“I’m guessing he has not told you then?”

Looking up, I shook my head. No, talking had not been a priority the last time we were together.

Aro let the subject go, to my great gratification and began explaining the many facets of the law. Sometimes Caius piped in, adding a portion or elaborating on a subject with examples I’d rather not have heard. The women never spoke a word.

In the end it all kind of boiled down to one big rule: the vampire world had to remain hidden from the humans. Every other law was subject to that.

“I am so glad you understand, my dear. I do wish for you to feel at home here.” With that, Aro rose from his seat, nodded to his wife and left the room. Caius followed his example and for a moment I wondered if I should to. But then Sulpicia began to speak.

“You are to stay here, then?” Her voice was gentle and even though I could see she had been turned as a young, beautiful woman, talking to her felt like talking to a grandmother. In return I guessed in her eyes, I must seem like an infant.

“I don’t know. I didn’t know I could.”

“Demetri won’t leave here”, Athenodora added and I knew she was right. If this bond Marcus spoke of was truly real, than I guessed I had found a new home.

“Is he often away?”

The wife of Caius smiled. “No, only when the need arises. No one can find someone like Demetri can.”

I sighed and nodded. He was probably the best tracker in the world. Aro didn’t seem like someone who surrounded himself with second bests.

“He is rather handsome, isn’t he”, Corin said from behind her easel. She winked at me and I bit my lip. Yes, he really was. I guessed I should be grateful this bond didn’t happen with someone like Felix.

Without their husbands present, the wifes were much more talkative. I learned they hardly ever left the tower we were now in, because of the devastation of Marcus, after the loss of his wife. Even though I understood the reason, I still felt bad for the women who were basically prisoners.

There wasn’t an awful lot we could talk about. They asked me about my life up till now, told me a little about the Volturi and their history, but in the end we were just too different to chat comfortably. Their alienation from the world outside these walls made them unable to understand anything I had done or dreamed about. Their youth had been spent many hundreds of years ago and I knew neither cared enough about history to want to hear about that.

After a few hours, in which I discovered I had not much patience for painting or sewing or any of the fine art ladies used to spend their time with, I left them with a thankful smile. They didn’t invite me to come again and I wondered if they were even free to invite people. Next to the door I closed behind me, stood two vampires that almost matched Felix in height. Their grim expressions chased me away in a hurry and I was alone in the hallways again.

\---

Loneliness was something I had become used to, so when I checked the library and found it empty, I was quite content to emerge myself in books for the rest of the week.

On the fifth day however, I was asked to join the coven for mealtime. Without thinking, I followed my messenger, but when I suddenly smelled humans, I abruptly stopped walking. Right, mealtime. That’s a thing I hadn’t thought about. I didn’t want to be anywhere near human blood. I trusted myself and my conviction, but seeing as this was a large coven and there would probably be a lot of blood, I’d rather not tempt myself.

“Sorry, I can’t come.” I swallowed and began my retreat, only to be halted by footsteps behind me. As I turned, I saw Felix and two others I had seen briefly, but didn’t know by name.

“What’s the matter, afraid they will bite you?” the youngest one asked. He looked remarkably like Jane. His face just as angelic, the same color hair, perhaps a tad darker.

“No,” I answered, cautious not to anger anyone, “I just don’t want to drink human blood.”

“Have you ever tried it? You might like it. They smell so good, don’t they?” The boy kept pressing me.

Felix added with a look of disdain: “I think she’s afraid, look at her, she’s trembling.”

I was, but only out of anger. The third one, a woman a little shorter than I, seemed to understand and tried to reign the situation in.

“Leave her be. Remember Carlisle? Their convictions are strong, so let them.”

Why were they comparing me to Carlisle? Only because he to didn’t want to harm humans?

Felix and the kid weren’t planning on listening to their companion, I could see them thinking up new sneers and I had it.

“Stop trying to persuade me. Walk on and go eat and leave me.”

The change was instantaneous. Felix closed his mouth with a loud clashing sound of his teeth. All three of them straightened a bit and walked passed me without an other word. For the first time I was beginning to wonder if there had been something in my words that made them obey so readily. Something Aro had said popped into my mind.

It was his chuckle I now heard from a little farther away. I couldn’t see him, but I heard him order someone: “Take her outside, into the forest to hunt.”

Outside sounded good, but there was one objection and I quickly asked the empty air in front of me: “When Demetri comes back …”

“Do not worry, my dear. He will find you.”

A shiver of anticipation stirred my desire. Of course he would.

The same vampire who had stood up for me just now, returned to me and smiled. “_Geia. __C_ome with me, I will show you the way. Maybe you’d like to change first? I guess hunting in that dress will damage it. Oh, and sorry about the situation with Felix and Alec, they can be a real pain. You’re Ariadne, right? Call me Chelsea.”

I instantly liked this vampire. Her Greek greeting made me smile happily and she was right, I couldn’t possibly hunt in the dress.

She took me to a walk in closet that seemed to contain all the clothes from all the vampires and much more.

“Each resident has it’s own section, you’d better not touch anything of those.” She giggled and moved on to racks with no name above it. “These you can pick. They are ordened by size. When you are done with an outfit, you can deposit it here”, she pointed at baskets behind each rack of clothing. “Be sure to put them in the right one. Left is if you want it back, right, if not.”

I looked down at the dress. It was hardly dirty and still smelled the same cause I didn’t suffer from human stuff like sweat. But maybe Demetri was bigger on hygiene than I was. He sure seemed like that sort of guy.

I picked out some tight black trousers and a long sleeved button-up tunic that was gray, but had golden stripes on the sides and golden buttons. Behind a screen I quickly changed and then carefully folded the dress and put it in the left basket behind Demetri’s clothing rack. Chelsea grinned at me as I shrugged.

“If you decide to stay here, you’ll get your own”, her eyes sparkled when she said that. “I sure hope you do, it would be nice to have someone to talk to. My husband is often away and there are too many boys here. And Jane is a bore.”

I stifled a laugh. Yes, staying just received a few merits.

Chelsea led me through a whole bunch of tunnels, until we came outside on the edge of the village. There she gave me directions how to get to a few reserves south of Volterra. It was night, so no one would notice me and grateful I said goodbye.

“Don’t worry”, Chelsea waved as I walked away, “I’m sure Demetri will be here very soon.”


	7. Chapter 7

Being outside felt like summer after having been cooped up in the dark castle for days. The directions Chelsea had given me were hardly necessary, as I could smell the trees from here. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but it seemed like a good idea to feed when I could, seeing there would probably linger a smell of human blood when I got back. And, and here I faltered a bit in my step, I would probably need the energy it would give me. A giggle escaped me and I made to jump the next tree that came in sight.

All of a sudden, I was shoved against the bark and the sweet smell of honey hit me in the face a fraction of a second before lips crushed against mine. Immediately my arms wrapped around my attackers neck.

“Demetri”, I breathed, as his lips moved from my face to the nape of my neck. His teeth scraped against my skin, causing me to tremble involuntarily.

“I missed you”, he almost growled, as his hands roamed my back.

Dinner would have to wait.

Like the first time, it astonished me how pliable our body’s were even though they could break through a brick wall. His marble skin felt like velvet as I caressed his cheeks and pressed my fingers in his shoulders when his lips trailed from my mouth to the soft spot beneath my ear. I hadn’t thought I could use the word soft to describe me again.

We stopped before the sun came up and moved deeper into the forest. There we finally slowed down enough to talk.

Always touching at least in one place, we stood on a branch high in the air, enjoying the first rays of sunlight.

“Aah, I’ve missed this.” I closed my eyes and lifted my chin, feeling the warmth on my face.

Demetri kissed me softly on my exposed throat. “Was it so bad, inside?”

“No”, I moaned, as he gently bit the skin beneath my chin. “I’ve learned so much and even made a friend, I think.”

“Who?” His hand covered mine as I stroked his chin that would always be smooth.

“Chelsea. She led me out of the castle and pointed me in the right direction. She is nice.”

He leaned back a bit and frowned. “As apposed to whom?”

“Jane”, I fought back a shiver, thinking back to the hate in those perfect eyes.

At that, Demetri chuckled softly. “Ah, yes, the witch twins are not very good with people.”

“I thought it was forbidden to turn children?”

“It is”, he moved back to nibble at my ear, which made my mind go blank for a minute.

“But they are tolerated because of their gifts.”

“Pain”, I breathed, remembering the knives in my head.

With a sharp move, Demetri pulled back and squeezed his eyes. “They used them on you?” His sudden anger was strangely satisfying.

“Jane did, for a few seconds, but then Aro told her off.”

His anger diminished, although he muttered: “I will speak to her. You belong to me, now. She is not to hurt you in any way.”

His possessive statement brought forth a number of different emotions. Was I happy with the fact he called me his? I was grateful for him wanting to protect me, but I was not a possession.

“Demetri,” I called his attention back to me, “Marcus spoke of a bond between us. Did you know?”

His eyebrows rose. That meant a no.

“He did?” He actually seemed happy about that. “That’s pretty rare. Did it … upset you?”

I shook my head and he smiled. “No, I guess I had already felt something like that.”

He moved in to kiss me and whispered against my lips: “Than it is true that you are mine.”

Before his lips touched mine, I pulled back an inch and said: “Just as much as you are mine?”

His eyebrows shot op and he chuckled. “Of course, wasn’t that obvious? Look at what you’ve done to me. I could hardly concentrate on my task. My mind constantly wanted to take me back to Volterra, to you. From now on, you will be my biggest distraction. Perhaps you’d better come with me the next time.”

After those words he moved in and prevented me from answering for a long time.

Most of my brain was occupied with finding as many places as possible where I could touch him and elicit a moan or a growl, but a tiny portion also thought about his words. Did I want to come with him? If it was only tracking someone, I would do it, but what if he was to pass on a verdict, perform an execution? Did I want to see him kill someone? I would have to think about that. For now I was content just to be near him.

\---

He watched me, as I crouched low beneath a bush, creeping up on my prey. The Lynx couldn’t smell me, as it was downwind and practice had made me soundless. Swift as a bullet I shot out of my hiding place and took the glorious animal by surprise. I quickly ended it’s life, whispered: “Forgive me”, and drank. A young bear was my next and last prey and carefully I wiped my mouth in the soft fur. I still troubled me to have to hurt them, but I had not been a vegetarian as a human, so killing animals for sustenance wasn’t new. Buying meat from the grocery store was, however, quite different from this.

When I stood up tall, knowing my eyes were once again a bright amber, Demetri came out of hiding and stood beside me, watching the dead animal. I looked as he knelt down and dipped his finger in the wound my teeth had made. He licked his finger, but grimaced.

“How can you stand this stuff?”

I shrugged. “It’s not so bad, once you get used to it.”

Would he try? For me? I doubted it. He had lived over a thousand years on the sole diet of human blood, how could he even get used to something else. He would not see the need and did I really need him to? It was enough for myself to keep my distance from human blood.

I smiled at him and saw a little tension leave his shoulders.

“Ready to go back?”

My smile faltered. “Do we have to?”

“I haven’t been back yet, Aro will want to hear my report.”

He’d come to me, first? I couldn’t keep the goofy smile from spreading around my lips and a look of exasperation crossed his features.

“I told you, you have no idea what you’re doing to me.” He swooped in, lifted me in his arms and kissed me thoroughly.

A giggle escaped me and when I pictured Aro’s knowing smirk, I laughed even louder.

“Care to enlighten me?”

“Nothing, really, just … You know, I think Aro knew about us, even before we did. He sometimes has this little smile … I think he likes me. At least … he takes care of me.” I looked up at Demetri, expecting him to smile, instead his eyebrows were bent downwards and his eyes a bit scrunched. He set me on my feet very slowly and cupped my face in his palms.

“Be very, very careful around Aro, _erastís __mou_. He has but a few loves in his life and one of them is power. If he has taken a liking to you, that most likely means he wants something from you.”

The carefree, lighthearted mood had evaporated completely. As I stared in Demetri’s red eyes, worry spreading through my body, the thought about something Aro had said made me wonder again. Something I didn’t yet know myself. My mind worked to get the pieces solved, but there were still a few missing. I couldn’t figure it out. In the end I just nodded and Demetri eased up.

“Come, I’ll race you.”

A bubbly laugh rose up from my throat and as I began to run, Demetri just a little ahead of me, the worry left my body. Knowing Aro probably wanted something from me, meant that I would be as safe as I could be, for the time being. Because if the most powerful vampire in the world was on your side, what could happen, right?

\---

I waited in a corner of the large room until Aro was done reading Demetri’s thoughts. I wondered if he read more than just about what happened with the vampire Demetri had to track. And, if so, if Demetri would be punished for stalling, or warning me about him. But after a while, Aro let go of Demetri’s hand and dismissed him with a mere flick of his wrist. I exhaled.

Nobody paid attention to us, as we left the hall and for a minute I was worried that maybe Demetri’s worries, or my hopes had been pointless. That I wasn’t as important. That I was merely tolerated because they wanted their tracker to remain in Volterra. What would happen if I wanted to leave? Would Demetri even consider coming with me? I looked his way. He was deep in thought as well.

“What’s on your mind?” I prompted.

He looked up, smiled a little and shook his head. “I have to be more careful of what I say to you.”

“Why?”

“Because he will know.”

I didn’t have to guess who he was talking about.

“Maybe I should go to him. Ask him about me.”

“No!” Demetri’s hands were on my shoulders in an instant, halting me with a jolt. “No”, he whispered softer, “if he wants to tell you, he will come to you. don’t give him any reasons to bind you to him anymore than is necessary.”

I creased my eyebrows. “You are bound to him and you don’t mind living here. Why should it be bad for me? It’s not like I can leave here anymore.”

With a sudden look of guilt, he let go of me and stepped back.

“I don’t mind”, I hastily added. Although I wasn’t entirely sure I meant it. It was true, I knew that. I couldn’t leave Demetri and if he wanted to stay, so would I. As long as I could hunt in the woods, walk outside when I wanted and choose my own path, than I wouldn’t mind. A nagging little voice in the back of my brain told me that what Aro wanted from me could very well interfere with that choosing, but I silenced it. It was leverage. If he wanted something from me, I could make a deal. It would all work out.

With my brave face on, I stepped forward and took Demetri’s hands in mine. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter what he will know. We have no secrets and it is not as if he doesn’t already know what you told me. He is what he is and so are we. No need to make life more complicated.”

The smile I loved returned to his face and I pushed my worries away. Still, even though Demetri warned me not to go to Aro, I already knew that was exactly what I would do. Dangerous or not, if I was to remain here the rest of my life, I wanted to know everything about everything. My brain could handle it.

\---

We rounded a corner, one I didn’t recognized, so I asked: “Will you show me around? I know only the library.”

He smirked, which I ignored.

“I’ve walked through a few hallways, but this is such a big place, there’s probably a lot I haven’t seen yet. What do you do here all day?”

Demetri looked around and seeing there was no one around, he pulled me close and kissed me as if we hadn’t just done that exact same thing a little over ten minutes ago. When he released my lips and moved to my neckline, I sighed and pushed him away with very little effort. He backed anyway and laughed at my disgruntled expression.

“Alright, alright, I will show you around. You know, I actually have a house somewhere out in the city. I hardly ever use it, but if you want, we can stay there.”

My eyes popped wide open. He had a house? “Yes, please.”

He smiled. “I will take you there after the tour. Perhaps we need to hire a maid to take care of some … stuff. I guess the place will be covered in layers of dust after all those years.

His frown made me giggle, but than his words sunk.

“A maid, as in, a human?”

“Well, you won’t find many vampire servants, so, yes.” He took my hand and pulled me along. “Don’t worry, she won’t be in the house when we’ll be there. I will take care of it after the tour. Do you want to change first? I noticed you found the changing room. Did you not like the dress?”

I looked down. The tunic was a bit wrinkled from the outside activities – if I could flush, I would have – but otherwise clean. I’d learned to hunt with great precision.

A little absentmindedly I answered: “No, no I liked the dress, but I couldn’t hunt with it. I guess I could change. Won’t they mind? I put the dress in your laundry basket and if I change again there will be so much more work.”

Demetri shook his head. His expression one of fondness, like I was a child who didn’t realize the dishes could be put in a dishwasher. I scowled at him.

“No, they won’t mind. You can pick whatever you like, whenever you like it.”

“You know I could wear the same outfit for weeks and still smell the same, right?” I mumbled, allowing myself to be pulled along again.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Was his answer and I shrugged. True.

The changing room was empty, but as I looked towards the rack with Demetri’s name above it, something had changed. Next to his, there now was another rack. With my name above it. It was empty except for the dress that now hung quite lonely, but very obviously cleaned. The smell of detergent still clinging to it. It smelled nice. I’d forgotten how soap smelled.

“Hmm”, was Demetri’s only comment. I saw how different emotions quickly passed his expression, but then he shrugged and smiled a little.

“Take whatever you like. It seems you are now considered one of the residents.”

My mind hadn’t quite decided if I liked that thought, but for now I would accept it. “If we’ll live in your house, we won’t need very much, anyway”, I finished my thought out loud.

“True. I will take you shopping. You can buy whatever you like and put in there.”

That idea made me giddy. Not worrying about money seemed trivial when I lived in the woods, but actually living like a human being and still not worrying about money was something else.

“I will become a spoiled brat, just like you.”

Demetri laughed with me and stood with both hands on his back as he watched me pick out a new dress. I held one up, and looked his way. He merely cocked his head. It was a green one, dark, like almost everything in the room. The bodice had a layer of lace that made it look old. Perhaps a bit to old. The red dress also had lace, but still looked a bit more contemporary. Or didn’t he like green?

I moved to a dark blue one. The material was velvet and I pressed it against my face, humming in delight. However there wasn’t one in my size.

“What if I pick a dress that someone else already has, won’t that be strange?” I scanned the room as I said that, but noticed that my concern was unnecessary. No two dresses in the entire room, as far as I could see, were the same. “Ah, never mind.”

I moved to the place where dresses my size were and found an other velvet one. Lighter, yet gray and not blue. I held it up and saw approval in his eyes, so I rushed behind the screen and changed.

The brief seconds swiveling air toughed my naked body, images of Demetri’s hands on me came crashing down and it took all of my self-control not to indulge in the sudden desire to call him that flooded me. The thought widened my eyes and when the velvet dress hugged my forms like a perfect painting I shivered.

Demetri must have heard the soft sigh that left my lips, cause the moment the hem of the dress toughed my ankles, he stood beside me. Apparently his mind had been in exactly the same place, because he crashed his body to mine and almost ripped the dress right of me again.

The material was saved, by something that had been the exact fear that had kept me from calling him in the first place. The door opened. Someone walked in.

We jumped apart, I smoothed my hair and then couldn’t hold back a giggle.

A noise that was very much a disapproval came from somewhere near the door and I peeked around the screen.

Jane. Of course.

Apparently Demetri hadn’t forgotten about my running in with the little girl, cause before I could stop him, he rushed to the petite doll-face and towered over her. I had to hand it to her, she wasn’t very impressed by him. But I guessed, when you could cause pain by merely thinking it, whom was there to fear?

Demetri’s voice was very low. If I had been on the receiving end of his scolding, I would have been very afraid. “If I ever hear you hurting Ariadne again, you will wish you had never been born. And no amount of torture will save you then.”

My stomach fluttered as I looked at him, being all protective and furious and a small victorious smile brushed my lips as I saw how Jane did cower a little after his words. She narrowed her eyes, looked at me with nothing but hatred and then made a hasty retreat. I let go of air I didn’t know I was holding.

Straightening up, Demetri glanced my way and grinned. “She won’t be bothering you again, _méli_.”

I loved how he kept using Greek words of endearment for me. If he hadn’t been a vampire, my dad would have been very proud that I had found a Greek lover.

The word lover made me bite my lip. Was that true though, was he really my lover? Apparently he was my soul-mate. Would it ever become more? There wasn’t really any need for anything else, yet I had already learned that marriage was a common thing, even amongst vampires. Or had they all been married before they were turned? And had they turned their spouses as well? So many questions. I would safe them for Chelsea.


	8. Chapter 8

Demetri took me to the front desk of the Volturi manor and gave instructions for his house to be made ready for habitation. It was as simple as that. The human woman behind the desk eyed me curiously, but obeyed without question.

“So, what would you like me to show you next?”

I thought for a while, tamping down annoying flashes of thought about what Demetri actually expected of me, living with him, and then simply pointed in a random direction. “That way.”

While we walked and a part of my brain listened to what Demetri told me about the doors that led to places as boring as laundry rooms, stockrooms and human things like bathrooms, another part of me wondered what his house would be like. Would it be as great as this one? Or more like the little houses I had seen when I had first walked into town? Above all I hoped it would be light. Preferably something with a garden. Somewhere I could enjoy the sun without having to be careful not to be noticed by the humans.

“And this is where I spend a lot of my time. At least, up until now.”

We had stopped in front of large double doors and when Demetri pushed one open, we were greeted by half a dozen or so men engaged in various forms of fighting. The speed and ability made my chin drop and for a whole minute I merely stared.

The room was large, not much smaller than the large dome in the center of the manor. The ceiling here, however, was lower and the floor was decorated with lines. Mostly circles.

When I finally was able to tare my gaze away from Felix almost breaking an other vampire in half, I turned to Demetri. My expression made him laugh.

“You … you can do that?” I motioned a bit randomly towards the men, who stoically ignored us.

“With the exception of Felix, I can take on everyone in the guard.”

It wasn’t bragging. He was simply making a statement and I believed him. Hadn’t I toughed the muscles myself, seen them roll beneath his skin as he’d held me. Vampires were strong, I knew that, but even in the world of superpowers there were differences. Even though muscles could no longer be strengthened, there were still moves that could be learned, speed that could be mastered. And I knew, as I looked at his face, as he calmly observed his fellow guards, that he had not spent a thousand years loitering.

A sudden enthusiasm engulfed me and I almost jumped him, asking: “Can you teach me?”

His charming grin came on full force, as he checked me out, assessing whether it would be worth the time or not. I narrowed my eyes and dared him to brush my question aside.

“Yes”, he finally said. His grin turning into a more fond smile. “I will teach you myself.”

I jumped up and down a few times, not caring about the huff that sounded from somewhere in the training area. It was probably Felix and I glowered at him.

He threw a wicked smile my way and I stuck out my tongue. Which I immediately regretted. A less immature sign could hardly be found. Oh well, they all knew that, compared by them, I was nothing but a child. But, now I had all the time in the world to learn at least as much as they had.

\---

“Do you want me to show you the house now?”

I looked through a window in the library, where we had been for the last few hours. Softly chatting about spending days with nothing to do, reading a little and making out, when we were alone.

“Is it ready yet?” I jumped up, returned the book to it’s place on a shelf and waited expectantly for Demetri, who seemed to like doing things at human speed.

“I would be very disgruntled if it wasn’t.”

However, before we could leave, a message from Aro came and Demetri’s face fell.

“Another search?” I softly asked. I had almost forgotten that his life was not completely his own. He had masters to serve and they would not relish the idea of him leaving.

“Come, let’s find out.”

In silence we followed the messenger to the great hall and as expected, Aro waited for us, sitting in his throne, like a king, lording over his subjects.

“Aaah, my young friends, how good of you to come. Aradne, you look stunning.”

Weary of his compliment and smile, after what Demetri had told me about the old vampire, I merely nodded and murmured a small thank you. Aro smiled, as if nothing was wrong, but when he held out his hand and Demetri made to move his own forward, I suddenly heard myself saying loudly: “No, stop!”

A few hisses penetrated the sudden silence. The hands of both men froze in midair and Demetri eyed me with something akin to terror.

Perhaps is was my twenty-first century lack of acknowledging power, the believe that this was a free country and that no one could force me to do anything, but I did not understand why he was suddenly so afraid. Aro might be the most powerful vampire I knew, but it was my solemn believe that being powerful didn’t automatically mean you could do everything you wanted, no matter the cost.

Realizing however that every other person in the manor, did Aro’s every bidding without question and that I could be in serious trouble because of my impertinence, I hastened to explain.

“There is no need to read our every thought. I understand it goes a lot faster than talking, but is is demeaning and embarrassing. You don’t need to know every little detail about our lives, just ask what you want to know, we will tell you the truth.”

Aro didn’t answer immediately, instead he cocked his head and stared at me, deliberating, probably, what to do with me. As his strange, dark red eyes bore into mine, unease finally began to settle. Had I just committed suicide? The image of the newborn losing his head flashed before my eyes and I swallowed.

From the corner of my eyes I saw how Demetri flexed his fingers and then balled them into fists. Would he fight for me, or against me?

“Very well”, Aro slowly spoke, causing Demetri’s eyes to bulge.

I quickly looked his way, scanning the room the same time. Every other vampire in the room seemed ready to pounce, but as Aro took a step back and seated himself once again on the throne-like chair, they all relaxed. A little bit of fear finally crept up my back. Yet also wonder, about what it was that Aro really wanted from me that gave me this much apparent latitude.

Aro’s frown disappeared as he said: “I wanted merely to spear you the embarrassment of having to share your answers with everyone in this room, but, have it your way.”

His excuse felt made up and I knew he was lying. With all the power he had, Aro was afraid to not know everything everyone was thinking. It taught me that he ruled by creating fear and not because he cared. It put me very much on my guard and gave me a little more appreciation for the warning the Cullens had tried to give me.

“I came to the understanding that you have made preparations to leave us.”

I focused my attention back on Aro’s words and even though he intended to question Demetri, I was the one who answered. “Only a little way. This manor is very nice, but I don’t like the darkness. I am used to the outdoors and Demetri told me he had a house nearby we could use. That is all.”

Was that all he had wanted to hear? He narrowed his eyes infinitesimally, a human wouldn’t have noticed. Perhaps he was afraid he would loose his tracker? I didn’t think he needed to fear that. Movement behind his chair made me look and I smiled briefly as I recognized Chelsea. She did not smile back, however, but seemed deep in thought as she stared at the space between Demetri and me. What was her gift? It hadn’t taken me long to believe that everyone who lived in the manor, had to have a gift. Aro would not keep them here if they hadn’t.

For a tiny moment, I deliberated asking Aro why he wanted to keep me here, but then I decided against it. Not right now. I would wait until I found Aro alone and somehow that didn’t seem like such an impossibility.

We waited, for two whole minutes, what, with the speed vampires could think, seemed like a very long time. In the end, Aro’s features relaxed and he waved, almost as if he was bored. The action reminded me of the wave Marcus gave me a while back. We were excused and so I nodded, grabbed Demetri’s hand and left the room in a flash.

I marched us straight to the door that led to the courtyard with the fountain, but it was still light outside, so I halted in front of the massive doors that kept the shadows inside. It was there that Demetri found his voice again.

“That … was incredibly stupid. I can’t believe you got away with it.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him and huffed. “Just because you are all afraid of him, doesn’t mean he has the right to do whatever he wants. That just makes him a bully.”

He chortled, still with wide open eyes, as if he couldn’t believe what had happened. “He may be a bully, but make no mistake, if he wants you dead, you won’t live another minute. I am really beginning to wonder what he thinks you can do. Clearly you have no idea, yourself.”

“No, I don’t, and yes, I would like to find out. Isn’t there some test you can do? Like those stupid things on the Internet where you can answer a bunch of questions and it tells you what kind of person you are?”

Apparently Demetri’s search history never encountered those before. Then again, he was over a millennium old, Internet must be too new for him.

“There is someone who knows that kind of stuff, but he lives over in Alaska, last I heard and I doubt I would get permission to travel there.”

“Permission?” My hackles rose. “We don’t need permission, we’re not his slaves. I know you sort of work for him, but it’s not as if we’ll stay away forever. We’re just going on a trip.” My voice rose as well.

Demetri moved closer and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Shh, it’s alright. You’re right, we are slaves to no one, but you are not old enough to understand how serious a threat an enemy like Aro could pose. Do not underestimate his power, please, I implore you not to antagonize him.”

I forced myself to let go of the anger that was building up inside of me. I had seen it in Aro’s eyes, truly, I understood the warning. But Demetri was right, I was young. And that meant that I had grown up in an age of freedom, not servitude. I could not and would not submit myself to some self-appointed dictator, no matter how powerful.

“I will ask him. I don’t know what he wants from me, yet, but if he is serious, he will listen to me.”

My handsome tracker didn’t like it, I could see it in his eyes. His hold on me increased, but when I stepped forward and pressed my lips to his, he relaxed. Besides, if Aro had wanted me dead, he’d had every opportunity the past week.

Imploring Demetri to wait here, I rushed back inside the manor. However, my object wasn’t to ask Aro for permission. I felt no need for that. Besides, Demetri was the best tracker in the world, who would be able to out-track him? No, my quest was for Chelsea. I stopped to ask for directions twice and found her at last in some sort of common room, where she sat beside a man that I figured to be her husband.

“Chelsea,” I immediately prompted, “can I talk to you for a minute?”

For a moment I questioned whether it was wise what I was about to do, considering Aro would be able to find out about it with little effort. But if I was very careful with my words, I would be able to keep our trip a secret. There was only one thing I wanted to ask her anyway, and that was no secret at all.

She stood up with a weary expression, but followed me to a spot out of range of vampire ears. Without further hesitation, I asked: “What is your superpower?”

Whatever it was that she had feared I would ask, this was not it, and when she began to laugh, I smiled as well.

“Is that what you came to ask? I thought … no, doesn’t matter. My … superpower, as you call it, is that I can see the ties that bind people together. Lovers, friends, any sort of loyalty. I …” here she became hesitant.

“What? Tell me.”

She inhaled and said without further wavering: “I can also break those bonds or make new ones.”

I scrunched my face. Why would anyone want to do that? My mind flipped this peculiar gift over and over, until some sort of understanding dawned.

“You can make bonds … strengthen them? Between anyone?”

Her nod was dejected, as if she was ashamed of her gift.

“Against their will?” I whispered, as the light bulb above my head suddenly switched on.

This time, the nod was minute and I inhaled sharply. That was what made everyone so incredibly loyal to Aro. Chelsea did.

I didn’t dare to ask her about Demetri, or even if she had used her gift on me yet, but there was one other thing I wanted to know, before I left. “Why did you look at us with a funny look, before, in the throne room.”

“Throne room?” She smiled a little, but then her frown reappeared. “I was looking at the bond between you and Demetri. It is incredibly strong, but I could not understand why Aro was so … forgiving, towards you. I thought, perhaps he was afraid that the bond between you two would lessen the one between Demetri and himself, but that bond is also strong. In the beginning I made that bond, to get Demetri to choose us, but for many, many years, I didn’t have to encourage it. Most of the guard see it as a great honor to work for the Volturi. Demetri as well. So I guess I still don’t understand.” She shrugged and eyed me curious.

I pondered for a bit. It made sense now, why Aro had so much power. I didn’t need to ask Chelsea why she remained by Aro’s side. Her reasons were her own, I didn’t need to know. I was also grateful to learn that, at least for the most part, Demetri’s choice to remain in servitude, was his own. I guessed there was not much else I needed to learn from her, so I smiled and said thank you.

Relief was visible in her face and we said a friendly goodbye before I left and hurried back to where Demetri was waiting.

Happy, that Chelsea’s strange look hadn’t meant anything to worry about, I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him. He enthusiastically responded and since there was not much else to do, but wait for the sun to go down, we enjoyed the empty, dark corners of the hallway as best as we could.

\---

When the sun set, we left the building and walked leisurely through the streets of Volterra, until we were out of sight of the humans, then we ran. I would wait to tell him about the non-existing permission he thought we had, until we were far away from Italy. No need to worry him for nothing and I would deal with whatever Aro would throw at us, when we got back. Perhaps he would be not so upset because we would be back anyway.

My mind located a map of the world that my poor human memory had stored one time and as we crossed the border tot Switzerland, I figured this time we did have to swim across an ocean, since I didn’t have a new passport yet. Oh well, so be it. Demetri was with me, he could fight off any sea monsters.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am soooo sorry, I totally forgot to update. Two chapters for you, to make up for it ^^

It turned out we didn’t have to swim. Not even a little bit. Even without a passport, my global tracker knew enough modes of transportation that didn’t acquire any papers. Apparently the Volturi possessed a great many vehicles, amongst them a small aircraft Demetri could fly without human necessities such as lights and radar. No flight control bothered us as we flew across the Atlantic and even over land, no one knew we were even there.

“Your old home”, Demetri said at one point and I looked out the window to the dark world below. I could make out little, so I had to take his word for it, but knowing we were almost at our destination made me glad. It wasn’t that I was afraid of flying, just that I would finally figure out what it was that made Aro want to keep me so bad.

On the way Demetri told me about this man that had been a member of the Volturi in the past, until he found a mate and they had left. I had looked very closely to his face as he told me this, but nothing in his expression told me he would do the same and I was okay with that. For now.

The man’s name was Eleazar and he and his wife Carmen were golden eyes, just like me. I wondered for a minute if the Cullen family would be with them, since they’d said they were headed to Alaska as well. And if so, should I warn Demetri? But in the end I decided against it. What if Demetri’s aversion against that family was so great he would turn the plane around and head back? I couldn’t take that risk. Especially because I still hadn’t told him Aro didn’t know of our quest. Although I figured by now he knew we were gone. Would he think we had left for good? Would he send others to look for us? Perhaps I could make a call when we landed. They had a phone, I had seen that at the front desk.

\---

Demetri landed the plane on an abandoned landing strip and took my hand.

“How do you know where to go? Have you been there before?”

He smiled and tapped the side of his head. “No need. I know Eleazar, I can find him.”

Ah, of course, his gift.

“How does that work? Do you see a map with lines and dots in your mind?”

His laughter rang in the cold air. For a moment I thought about how strange we must look to any human who would happen upon us. I couldn’t hear or smell any, and knowing Demetri, I was sure we wouldn’t encounter them at all. His gray coat with the high collar and cravat still gave him that air of ancient civility and my dress was made for dancing, not prancing through the snow as we did at the moment.

“No, no maps and lines. It is a bit like picking up a ping on a radar. I simply focus on the voice of the person I want to go to and that sound guides me. All I have to do is head in that direction.”

That seemed easy enough. “I knew there was a little bit of a bat in there”, I joked.

We walked without hurry and I enjoyed it more than I thought. My hand swung his softly back and forth and when I peeked at him, I saw a content smile linger on his lips. The snowflakes were like crystals beneath my boots and I was sorry for crushing them, so I stopped and shook the boots of my bare feet. It still felt strange sometimes, how the need for layers of undergarments had gone away. Against my marble-like skin, the snow didn’t melt. I wiggled my toes and looked up at Demetri.

“Have you ever walked barefoot in the snow before?”

His expression told me he’d never seen the need for a childish thing like that, but I wasn’t about to let it go.

“You should. It makes you appreciate being able to live like this, more. We don’t get cold, we don’t get sunburn. We could build a house on the tip of the world, where no one would ever find us, and we would be completely at ease. I always wanted to see more of the world, but I’ve only just come to the realization that now, being this, I can actually go anywhere. To the depths of the ocean, to the midst of the rain-forest. The hottest deserts and the coldest plains of ice. I could walk across the salt lakes of Australia without ever going thirsty.”

My eyes had wandered off into the distance, but now I focused back on Demetri, who was eying me with a thoughtful gaze.

“You are more than a thousand years old, have you already seen everything?”

Slowly he shook his head.

“Why?” I breathed, grasping his other hand as well, trying to fathom his lack of curiosity.

He waited a while before speaking, pouting his lips. Finally he merely shook his shoulders once and said: “When I was young, the world was not so small as it seems today. People were either content with living in their village or had a vision to conquer the world. You, I think, would have been one of the latter. You would have achieved greatness, if not on your own, than in marrying well. You would have made sure the world had bowed at your feet and if I had known you then, I would never have left home.”

It was difficult seeing myself like that, but I understood what his answer meant. He was content with the life he had. The small circle in which he moved. He would probably come with me if I asked, but he would always return. I smiled. That was alright. As long as I could be there as well, it would be fine.

“Come on, lets find this Eleazar, than we can go home.”

\---

With my boots in my hand, the hem of my dress soaked because of the snow, we arrived a little over an hour later at a lovely house, overlooking avalley. Nowhere near tired, I smiled, though I did feel a little nervous, now that we were so close to retrieving the truth about me. What if it was something awful, like causing pain. I could never use a power like that one anyone, could I?

And what if this Eleazar didn’t know, or worse, wouldn’t tell me? I paused and Demetri stopped as well.

“Are you alright?”

My eyes seemed glued to the sight of the front door that was still closed. This man had once been a Volturi, but he’d left, would he even want to talk to me? Would he hate Demetri as much as the Cullens did?

“Perhaps we should go”, I whispered. “What if-”

My sentence was cut of by the opening of the door. Instead of a man, a woman appeared, with behind her another. Both had golden blond hair, was one of them the wife? They looked at us with very much anger in their eyes and I felt my insides freeze. This was a mistake, we should turn around and run. But I didn’t move and next to me, Demetri straightened to his full hight. He sensed the hostility as well.

“What are you doing here?” the first one hissed. “You are not welcome here.”

My mouth didn’t work anymore, I looked at Demetri, pleading for him to take the lead, because suddenly all my previous bravery had left me. He seemed to understand and squeezed my hand.

“We are not here to cause trouble, we merely wish to speak to Eleazar.”

His words were spoken no louder than he would speak to me, but with our increased hearing, I knew they had heard.

“What do the Volturi want with him?”

I shook my head, as Demetri replied: “We did not come on their behalf.”

This seemed to surprise the women and their hostility lessened a tiny portion.

After a brief exchange of worried expressions, the first woman said: “He is hunting, he will return soon.”

I had not missed their gazes at my face, no doubt wondering about the color of my eyes. Also our joined hands seemed to puzzle them. Neither of them invited us in, so we just stood there. The women in the door opening, we a few yards away from the porch. My nerves and doubts preventing me from saying anything and Demetri simply content in waiting. He looked at me a few times, worry in his eyes, but he never spoke.

My muscles didn’t care about standing still for hours on end, but the wait didn’t help my troubled mind. There was too much silence, too much time to think of every possible scenario, everything that could go wrong if Eleazar was anything like Aro.

Rustling of leafs was the first indication the wait was over. It was different from the soft movement the wind had caused and we turned, now facing the woods on our right. Two people emerged and from the corner of my eye, I saw the blond women relax.

The man and women who now stopped in front of us, were dark haired and I was grateful to see their faces were at least not as angry as the ones on our left.

“Demetri.” The man, I guessed this must be Eleazar, nodded curtly.

Demetri returned the greeting and added: “Eleazar, Carmen, allow me to introduce to you Ariadne. We have a question for you.”

I watched, anxious, as Eleazar cocked his head to examen me more directly. Somehow, it was strange, to remain standing in the snow, my boots still in my other hand, without even the expectation of moving the meeting indoors. The unease however, had more to do with the hostility that still swirled the air around us, than with any show of civility. Like when I had first come to Volterra, I didn’t feel the need to act human.

Finally, I couldn’t contain myself anymore and asked, a bit too loud, perhaps: “I need to know what my superpower is, can you tell me?”

This surprised our unwilling hosts, but apparently it also eased the tension.

“Oh, right. Yes, of course. I didn’t realize … You are not here on behalf of the Volturi?”

I shook my head a tad too fast, which caused the dark haired woman, Carmen, to smile.

“They don’t even know we’re here.” My eyes widened after I let that slip and I looked at Demetri apologetic. “Sorry, I didn’t want to risk anyone stopping us, so I didn’t tell. But I will call, as soon as I find a phone, alright?”

Demetri’s exasperated sigh made me bite my lip and again I whispered: “Sorry.”

“Aro won’t be pleased”, he muttered, which, surprisingly, made the two blond women laugh.

The mood lightened enough for Carmen to finally invite us inside and as we followed them through the door, she handed me a cellphone that already had the Volturi number on speed dial.

If I was still human, I would have had a lump in my throat, but now there was nothing keeping me from answering to the Italian greeting on the other side of the line. I recognized the voice, it was the lady from the reception. She knew about vampires, so I could just tell her to give Aro a message, right?

“Ehm, hello, this is Ariadne. Can you give Aro a message? Tell him we’ll be back tomorrow, alright? Okay, thank you, bye.”

I hung up before the receptionist could even utter a syllable and for a minute I feared I’d talked too fast for her human ears to have understood. But then I sighed and handed the phone back to Carmen. I froze when I took in the looks on the faces of the four Alaskan vampires.

Demetri had his palm against his face. Perhaps I should have made him make the call.

“I am not sure it’s such a good idea that you should return at all”, Carmen said with weary eyes.

“Why?”

Before I or anyone could say anything else on the subject, Eleazar took a step forward until he was right in front of me. In an instant Demetri was at my side, but the dark haired man merely looked at me with concern.

“Aro indulges you a lot, doesn’t he? I think I understand why.”

Suddenly all my nerves flew away. “You know what my gift is? Tell me!”

“You can command anyone to do your bidding.”

My mouth hung open and Eleazar sighed, after which he chuckled a bit.

“You see what I mean?”

I kind of didn’t and looked at Demetri, who now eyed me with wonder.

“That is indeed a most powerful gift. And it explains a whole lot.”

“What?” I turned his way. “What does it explain?”

With his hand rubbing his chin and a frown on his forehead, Demetri paced a few steps up and down the hallway we were still occupying.

“The first time Aro tried to read your thoughts, you stopped him. I didn’t understand why he didn’t punish you immediately, but now I know. He must have understood what had happened.”

As realization finally began to dawn, more and more instances presented themselves and I suddenly grasped the meaning of my gift.

“Jane … I stopped her, that’s what he meant. And the man at the airport, he let me pass when I asked him, no, told him to.” The encounter with Felix and Alec in the hallway also flashed through my mind.

“And the last time we were with Aro, when I … told him …” My voice trailed off. Aro had done as I said, not because he wanted something from me and indulged me, but because I’d commanded him.

“Wow.”

“Yeah”, one of the blond women nodded in response.

“Is she in danger?”

I turned my gaze back at Demetri, who now looked at Eleazar with concern.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“On what your future will be like. She is … different, young, unpredictable and very powerful. Aro will most definitely feel threatened by her and will want to enlist her. You can run, but I am not sure you will be able to hide from him.”

I didn’t like where this conversation was heading.

“He leaves you alone.”

“We are a big coven, without cause he will not jeopardize his carefully crafted rule over the vampire world. Believe me, he tried.”

What did that mean? Did it have anything to do with the reason they seemed to dislike Demetri so much? Probably.

“And I fear your gift is one he will not want to loose. And neither is yours.” Eleazar turned his look towards Demetri, who narrowed his eyes.

I piped up: “He will not loose anything, as far as he hás anything to loose. We are controlling our own destiny and if Demetri decides to stay with the guard, than so will I.”

His frown evaporated, making room for an astonished expression.

“He will try to use you, make you do terrible things”, the second blond woman said.

“Nobody makes me do anything. It is my choice and from what I have just learned, no one will ever be able to make me do anything. I don’t know what the history is between you, and I don’t really want to know. I came here for an answer and now I have it, so now we can go home.”

Felling a bit riled up, I walked over to Demetri, grabbed his hand and pulled him with me towards the door, just like I had done before we left. The thought halted me.

“Did I ever command you? Did I make you do something you didn’t want?” That idea actually frightened me. What if everything that had happened between us was my fault, what if this was all against his will?

He stopped that trail of thought by taking my face in his hands and kissing me.

“No.”

One simple answer. It was enough.

I turned my head, said: “Thank you, for the answer”, to Eleazar, who nodded, still looking concerned, but resigned and then left the house.


	10. Chapter 10

Together we walked back to the plane. At human speed, and without talking. There was much I needed to process, now that I knew my superpower.

A couple of times my mouth opened, ready to say something like: so, I basically can order everybody around, or: this could actually be fun. However after a few seconds, my mouth closed again and all I actually said, by the time we arrived at the landing strip, was: “Do you think he will be mad?”

With a swift motion, Demetri’s arms were around me in a tight embrace and I hid my face in his chest. Without the need to breath, I could press myself against him as close as I liked for as long as I wanted and right then, I never wanted to let go.

“Did you mean it?” He softly questioned and I made a sound that he interpreted correctly as ‘what?’.

“When you said you would stay with me, if I wanted to stay in Volterra.”

I rotated my face a fraction, so I could speak and answered: “Yes, I did. I want to travel the world and see all the amazing places I mentioned, but I want to do it with you and if Volterra is your home, than it will me mine as well.”

He held me back a little, only to capture my lips with his in an all engulfing kiss. Like always, when he did that, my mind went blank and all I could do was bask in the knowledge that he apparently wanted me with him as much as I did.

In a blur, the sides of the plane moved past me as Demetri rushed me inside. To me it wouldn’t have mattered if we stayed in the snow or not, but Demetri liked his clothes to stay as dry as possible. The elastic band with which I had made a bun of my hair, snapped as he pulled at it. Softly he drew a lock of my dark curls close and inhaled deeply, before burying his nose against my neck. My eyes fluttered shut and I pressed my lips tightly together as not to embarrass myself with sounds that definitely were more and more difficult to keep inside.

As if we had all the time in the world, we moved slowly, exploring every millimeter of skin that was exposed. A few times his hands tugged at my dress, but he always stopped himself just short of tearing the fabric. Did he think about the lack of dresses that were in the plane or did he have a more noble notion on his mind?

Without getting tired, it was very difficult to stop, but as the last rays of sunlight faded in the distance, we both knew it was time to go home. We made ourselves presentable, took our seats and in silence Demetri flew us away from the snow.

\---

It would take us a few hours to cross the Atlantic and I was about to rise and walk around in the small plane, just to pass the time and satisfy my curiosity, when Demetri halted me with a soft: “Wait.”

He pressed a few buttons and turned my way. There was a vulnerable look on his face and I hunched over to take his hands in mine. “What is it? Are you afraid of Aro?”

For a minute his eyebrows knitted together. “No, not really. He will be pleased to hear we will stay in Volterra and as you said, no one can actually hurt you.”

“Or you”, I hastily added, “I won’t let them.”

He shushed me with a gentle kiss.

“Ariadne.”

A shiver ran down my back. He didn’t say my name very often. I wished he would. His low voice made it sound so sensual.

“I never really believed I would ever ask this question, but that was before I met you. I know it is not necessary, especially in these days, but I would like it very much. If only to be able to have a way to call you mine in a way that means the most.”

He was heading somewhere, I know he was, but I couldn’t for the life of me understand what he wanted to say, so when he did finally manage to ask what he was working his way up to say, my lower lip dropped like a sinkhole.

I knew I was old enough and I knew I had always wanted to one day. Becoming a vampire had lessened the memory of that longing considerably, but now … I knew for a fact that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind in all the five years since my new life began. It never even once crossed my mind until the moment I’d kissed him. But now, hearing Demetri ask me if I would marry him, there really only was one answer I could give.

Without a doubt, without a second thought, wholeheartedly.

“Yes!”

The plane never got to be investigated, save for the many different positions in which you could make out in the chairs.

\---

The moment we left the plane, at an airport on the coast of France, it was dark and we were not alone. The huge shadowy mass, that was Felix, stood there, waiting for us. How did he know we would return at this moment? Or had he been standing there since the moment my call came through? I couldn’t really feel sorry for him. I knew he was a friend of Demetri, but I didn’t like him.

I was about to use my new found gift for the first official time, when Demetri simply asked: “Felix, what brings you here?”

The big brute replied: “I am to escort you back.”

Again I wanted to tell him off, but Demetri took my hand and said: “Lead the way.”

Felix took us to a car that was waiting at the edge of the airport. There was no one else, which eased up my nerves a bit. At least Aro hadn’t planned to hurt us with Jane. And I didn’t even know what her brother did. For a short while I let myself be distracted by all the things I could do with my gift. No one would be able to keep secrets from me. No one would be able to do anything unless they beat me to it. Killing me before I could say the word stop, that would be effective. Perhaps I should take a little more care whom I would use my gift on. I didn’t need enemies, I only wanted to live in peace.

What would Aro want from me? Would he have me do things? Or simply command someone to tell the truth? I could do that. I could make people talk without hurting them of having them be tortured. I could stop anyone from attacking Aro, though I couldn’t imagine anyone be that stupid to try.

Would I be able to make someone forget things? Could my command be long lasting? Those were all things I needed to find out. I only hoped I would get the change.

Driving back to Italy took longer than running, but I kind of liked it. The silence was comfortable and Demetri put his arm around me as I laid my head against his shoulder. Felix looked at us a few times through the rear-view mirror, but he never spoke a word. Apparently his only orders were to pick us up and make sure we returned safely to Volterra. He could have saved himself the trouble.

Halfway the trip, Demetri decided to ignore the fact that we weren’t alone and asked: “When?”

I didn’t have to ask what he meant and the bubbly, happy feeling from before slowly found its way back to my belly.

“I don’t know, whenever you want, I guess. Do you want it to be a big thing? I mean, how does it work for vampires? I guess you can’t just invite a human cleric to perform the ceremony, or do you simply go to the local registry? I actually have no idea how it works in Italy.” Or anywhere else for that matter. Weddings in movies were always very nice and beautiful and big, but movies hardly ever explained the steps in detail.

Felix’s eyebrows rose a bit, but I ignored him, like Demetri did.

“You can have it any way you’d like. I’ve actually been to quite a few vampire weddings over the years. We can do it today, if you want. I’m sure Aro would love to do the honors.”

At he mention of the word wedding, a little sound escaped from the front seat, that made Demetri grin. Felix must feel incredibly uncomfortable, right now, which was probably Demetri’s design and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Would he say something if we started to make out? Perhaps he would stop the car and leave. It was worth the try.

Feeling wicked, I inched closer, walking with two fingers up Demetri’s chest. He’d never bothered to redo his cravat and slowly I unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, while whispering: “It would be very nice to have the first night in our house be our wedding night.”

Another noise made me bite my cheek and Demetri’s eyebrows rose. His gaze flickered to the front and when he took in my expression, he caught on to my ruse. With a mirroring grin on his face, he slowly kissed the corner of my mouth, while whispering: “You’ll like the bedroom.”

Suddenly we were pressed into the car seats, as the car sped up to its maximum speed. I couldn’t keep it together anymore and burst out laughing.

“Alright, my friend, don’t fret. We’ll behave.” Demetri’s grin turned to a fond smile, as he looked my way and after one, long, searing kiss, he leaned back again.

I moved back also, laying my head against his shoulder. There was a lot of new stuff that occupied my mind right now and I was glad Felix slowed down to normal speed again. I needed the time to think.

It would sure mollify Aro if we returned, asking him if he would wed us, right? It would even make our outing seem like a romantic getaway for the sole purpose of Demetri proposing. But more than the question whether or not Aro would forgive us from leaving without so much of a consent, I had to think about what kind of wedding I wanted to have.

Anything like the one’s I had dreamed about as a little girl was out of the question. For one, my father wouldn’t be there to give me away and my sister couldn’t be bridesmaid. A white dress seemed inappropriate. Going up to the local registry felt like getting a paper for the sake of the paper. In my new world the paper would be meaningless. I didn’t need a big party either, considering I had very few friends I could invite. I would like Chelsea to be there. That was one thing I did want. She could be my made of honor. Would Felix be the best man? That had me giggling all over again.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing, I’ll tell you later.” I glanced forward and Demetri nodded, smiling.

Could I invite the wifes? And Corin? They were the only other females I knew in the manor. Jane would most definitely not be invited.

Marcus, I wanted Marcus to be there as well, he had been kind to me. Caius could stay away, but that would probably be rude and unwise. My smile faltered. This turned out to be more difficult that I thought.

“Can’t we just elope?” I finally squeaked, hiding my face in his side.

There was a short pause and then Demetri’s soft voice spoke: “Felix, stop the car.”

To my surprise, the car indeed slowed to a halt, which earned the big guard a few points in my favor.

“Ariadne, look at me.”

I took a deep breath and looked up. We were alone in the car, I hadn’t even noticed Felix left the car. Again, points.

“Marriage for a vampire is different, because the whole ‘until death do us part’ thing is a bit lengthier. We can get the paperwork in order within a day, but unless you want to go to Vegas, it will take more than a day to get married the human way.” He lifted my chin with his finger and softly kissed me on my lips.

“The only way we will be truly, and officially married in a way that our world will completely accept, is for Aro to speak the words. No tedious paperwork, no postponements, we could be married today.”

I looked in his eyes, a little darker now than when we left for Alaska many hours ago.

“What do you want?”

He wasn’t asking if I wanted a feast or a white dress, I knew that. He just wanted to know what marrying him meant for me. So I let my eyes wander over all the lines in his face. Reveling in the beauty that was before me.

Marrying Demetri. I wanted to be with him, for the rest of my life. To be his and to make him mine. I wanted him to be able to introduce me as his wife. I’d realized that, the moment he’d said my name to Eleazar and Carmen. The void after Ariadne had felt so empty and I understood now why. There had been something missing, but nothing really fitted. Not girlfriend, certainly not mate. Wife would be perfect. So, yes, that was what I wanted. To be tied to him in a way that the whole world would understand without question. Husband and wife.

As the answer came to me, it also became clear what it was that I wanted and I smiled as I said: “Let’s go to Aro. No one else, just him and us.”

\---

As soon as Felix was in the car again, after Demetri had opened the door as a sign we were ready to go, we continued our ride home. We parked in a garage I hadn’t seen before, but when Felix made to guide us, Demetri held up his hand. They exchanged a look and Felix opened his hands in submission. He looked at me with a new expression. Not hostile anymore, more accepting and I nodded my thanks for his understanding.

The corridors were empty, light shone through the high windows, casting rays that made dusty gray patches on the walls. I imagined my heartbeat would match the speed of a train at this point, if I had still been human. Instead my chest remained quiet, unmoving, as my lungs didn’t expand and deflate to create oxygen. My hand squeezed Demetri’s so hard I was worried I would cause damage, but he merely smiled reassuringly, every time he caught me looking sideways.

He knocked on the doors of the great hall, knowing Aro would be there most likely, awaiting our return. Just before the word to enter came, Demetri said: “Let him read my thoughts, it is the fastest way and that way no one will know until it is done.”

Although I didn’t like the mind reading one bit, I knew he was right.

We walked in as the double doors opened and my eyes immediately scanned the room. There were guards, of course. Marcus and Caius in their chairs and in the middle: Aro, standing up with an effusive smile on his pale face. The wifes were there to, sitting in a corner, like they were having afternoon tea.

I focused my attention on Aro and we walked, hand in hand, up to him without a pause. He also took a few steps towards us and as we reached him, Demetri held out his free hand, palm up, like an invitation. Eagerly Aro took it and closed his eyes.

He took his time, no doubt searching for any signs of in-submission. I carefully watched his expression, as the exaggerated grin was replaced by a little frown, that merged into surprise. He let go and looked at both of us for a few minutes and then said: “Dear ones, will you give us a moment.”

Everybody now looked our way with clear question marks in their eyes, but they all stood and left without a word. It seemed a bit unnecessary, wouldn’t it be easier for the three of us to leave and find a quiet place? But I guessed that was not how Aro worked. Even though he ruled with his so called brothers as equals by his side, it was apparent that he was the one who called the shots.

When the room was empty - even the guards had left, which kind of astonished me - Aro’s expression finally changed into one that I actually liked. This smile was real. Free of fear or dominance. I exhaled softly and returned the smile.

“So, Ariadne, you have come to learn a lot about yourself these past days. Tell me, why did you not simply come to me?”

I knew this question would come, but the honest answer was that I still didn’t really know. So I shrugged and said: “I guess … I was afraid of what you would do once you knew I knew. I knew you wanted me here, but I still don’t know why. I know there are a lot of people afraid of you, of the power you have and … I didn’t want to be one of them.”

“Ah, yes. I admit, I do not always make kind choices. Being this”, he gestured to his face, “means to make sacrifices, to one’s soul, most of all. I fear I have never had your, shall we say, conscience and strength of will.”

His honesty surprised me.

“But, I bear you no ill will, for seeking out my old friend in the north. Your … outing has resulted in a very happy conclusion.”

At this I would have blushed, had I been able.

“Come, dear ones, I will do as you ask. With great pleasure.”


	11. Chapter 11

I was married.

Aro performed a very traditional Greek wedding, with wreaths and ribbons he fetched from who knew where. He spoke words that felt als old as time and tied our ribbons together with a gleeful expression.

Afterwards he took a step back, placed his hands against each other under his chin and allowed us to retreat through the back door, where no one was waiting. I had no idea if he would announce our wedding to all those who had been sent out, but it didn’t really matter much. With our Stefana crowns still on our heads, a ring around my finger that had been around Demetri’s, probably as long as he had been alive, we hurried through the narrow hallways, laughing and almost skipping. We encountered no one as he led me out of the manor, both of us covered by large gray mantles and we ran, joyfully.

In front of a large gate, that gave entrance to a house, hidden by a high wall and a row of hedges, Demetri finally halted me. This was it, his house. Our house.

Anticipation flooded my senses and a squeal escaped my lips as he picked me up, opened the gate with a heavy iron key and carried me into our domain. He closed the gate, locked it securely, and continued carrying me all the way to a beautifully crafted front door. The house was a same sandy colored structure like the other houses in the village, only this one was a lot bigger. Not as enormous as the Volturi manor and even a bit smaller than the hotel-like houses the Cullens and Eleazar’s coven lived in. But it was perfect for the two of us. And two of us it would always remain.

I quickly pressed that troublesome thought to the back of my brain. One day I would mourn what we would never share, right now I was happy. Beyond happy.

The minute Demetri closed the door behind us, his mouth was crashing into mine. I flung my arms around his neck and didn’t let go until the next morning.

\---

We were left alone for a whole blissful week, in which we only moved out of the house to walk in the garden or sit in the sun. I loved the way the light bounced of Demetri’s skin in millions of shiny fractals. As I basked in the daylight, the sixth day of our marriage, I noticed dark rims beneath my husbands eyes. For a moment my own thought distracted me. Husband. Oh I loved that word. But then I looked closely again and asked: “Are you alright? There are bruises under your eyes.” It couldn’t be because of all the exercise we’d had, right?

Demetri smiled and shook his head. “It’s nothing. You have them as well.”

“Really?” A little shocked, I ran inside to find a mirror. I hadn’t been in front of very much mirrors since I became a vampire. The lovely black haired young woman staring back at me still looked a bit unfamiliar.

Demetri was right, beneath my own eyes were the same dark rims. “What do they mean?”

From the garden his low voice came soothing: “When was the last time you fed?”

Fed? Oh. The eyebrows of my mirror image shot up as realization dawned. My eyes were dark. I was hungry. The moment that thought crossed my mind, a burn in my throat began to demand attention. Why hadn’t I noticed that before?

Behind me Demetri appeared. “I will take you to hunt tonight. After that we are expected back at the great house.”

I sighed. It seemed our honeymoon was over. “Why?”

“Aro wants to see us.”

Us, not just him. Was that on purpose, did he have a job for the both of us or was it merely courtesy?

“Demetri?”

“Hmm?”

I tried to keep my eyes open, but his lips devouring my neck made it difficult.

“Do you think my … gift can make someone change their mind?”

He made an affirmative hum and moved to my hairline, which made my breath hitch.

“But also … also, for a longer period of time?” A slight moan escaped my lips as his tongue made circles on the soft spot beneath my ear.

We had discussed my superpower over the past few days, but this question I hadn’t dared to ask before. What if I accidentally said something like: forget about it, and he actually did? Irreversible.

He noticed the tension in my body, because he stopped kissing me and looked at me again in the mirror.

“You are afraid you can command me to forget you? Forget I love you?”

I shivered. He hadn’t said those words out loud before.

His arms moved around me and held me tight as he whispered, blowing soft tendrils of my hair against my bare shoulder: “Nothing in the world could do that. Not even your superpower.”

My eyes fluttered shut as he pressed his lips against the back of my head. It hadn’t actually been my concern whether I would make him forget me. My fear existed in the possibility that I could inadvertently change someone’s believes. What if I told Demetri that he had to drink animal blood from now on. I never would, but theoretically. Would my power be that strong? Or would my power only work for a short time? I really had to be careful with my words from now on. Telling someone to stop was just a small thing. Telling someone they could fly and send them of a rooftop would kill them. Or at least hurt them a bit.

\---

I guessed Aro had thought about all that as well and decided I needed to practice my gift far away from him and those he cared for. There was a rumor, so he told, as we arrived in the tower room after we had both fed. Me in the woods, Demetri … somewhere else. I didn’t want to think about it.

“Our enemies in the east have sought to wage war against us for many hundreds of years. This time, the possibility is a bit more substantial, as we get reports from allies.”

Was he talking about the Cullens? No, that was west, not east. Who were enemies in the east? Arabia? China? Australia? It all seemed so far away.

“I want you to track our hotheaded Romanians and determine the threat.” He looked at Demetri and then over to me. “Use whatever means necessary. And return home safely.”

I blinked. He wanted me to go. To Romania. To do what?

Apparently he expected Demetri to fill me in with the particulars, because he waved his hand to dismiss us and went back to the large table that once again lay filled with books.

When we’d first arrived at the manor, after our return from our house, every face we passed had either smiled or smirked, with a few exceptions of contempt or disinterest. It had made me feel uncomfortable to say the least, now I saw nothing.

When we were out of hearing range, the double doors closed behind us, Demetri took my face in his hands and said: “Are you scared?”

I could only nod.

“I thought you wanted to travel the world?”

“Yes, but I didn’t think I would have to end wars while doing that”, I snapped.

He grinned and shook his head. “She antagonizes the most powerful vampire in the world, yet fears to face a few renegades.”

I pouted and muttered: “That’s not the same.”

His cheeky grin turned into a sweet smile and he moved in to kiss me gently on the lips. “Don’t worry, _gynaíka mou_, the only thing we will have to do, is access the threat and report back. No fighting, no ending wars.” He kissed me again and let me go.

I melted a little as he called me his wife. He was right. We only had to go there and see what was going on. Perhaps talk to some people, nothing more. He would easily find those Romanians and I would command anyone to tell us what we wanted to know. What better way was there for me to test my new found abilities? And we would be together. That was a big plus. Better than having to sit at home, worrying if Demetri was even alive.

“The second we get home, however, you’re teaching me to fight.”

Demetri straightened a little and nodded once. He smiled at me, but a terrible feeling took root in my stomach. I had just commanded my husband and from the looks of it, he didn’t even realize it.

\---

We quickly changed into suitable traveling attire. Nothing of the previous thrills of anticipation were felt this time and we were in and out the dressing room in seconds. At the front desk awaited us an envelop in which we found passports and a wedding certificate that only lacked our own signatures. There was also a credit card and while I put my signature – a new one, with a new last name – next to Demetri’s, he placed the card in his wallet and the passports in his inner pocket.

After that he took me to the garage and opened the door of a black car that looked like it was made for a racetrack. The inside smelled new and a little hesitant I asked, once he sat down next to me: “This isn’t yours, right?”

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“Are you kidding? I feel like a movie star. Is this really yours?”

His charming grin caused me to shake my head in disbelief. “It must’ve cost a fortune.”

“You’d be surprised how much money you can accumulate over a thousand years.”

Yeah, that made sense. The interest alone would probably be more than all my previous wages put together.

This wasn’t a rush job. That much became clear when Demetri never sped up beyond the speed limits. It was bright daylight and the dark windows of the car prevented anyone to get a glimpse of diamond skin. We only stopped for gas and we didn’t speak much. Occasionally he pointed out a specific architectural importance or answered one of my questions about the vampires we were about to find.

“Will we actually meet them, or it this more a spy mission?”

He changed lanes to overtake a car that went too slow and smoothly went back to the right. He looked at me while driving and answered: “We’re not going to meet them. There are plenty of vampires around who are loyal to the Volturi, they will provide us with sufficient information.”

Day turned into night and into day again. Borders were no trouble, no one even halted us or wanted to check our passports. I had seen bits of Europe before, but I’d never been to Romania. Since we couldn’t walk in daylight, because it was a lovely day, Demetri took us deep into the mountains, where we waited for the sun to set again.

“Can you hear them? In your mind?” I asked, while we sat on the top of a high mountain, overlooking so much of the world it almost dizzied me.

“If I concentrate, yes.”

“So, you’ve met them before?”

“Not face to face, only from across a field.” He seemed deep in thought as he said that and again I wondered if it had something to do with the Cullens and what happened four years ago. This time I did ask.

“What happened four years ago?”

He looked my way and narrowed his eyes. “Who told you about that?”

“When I was with the Cullens, they warned me not to go to Italy, due to something that had happened four years ago. But they wouldn’t tell me what it was. Please, tell me.” I made an effort to ask and not command. I wanted Demetri to trust me with the truth of his own free will.

He sighed and stared in the distance. But he did take my hand, so I waited patiently.

Finally he explained: “Four years ago, someone came to us with a complaint about the Cullen coven. Something they had done, that is absolutely forbidden in our world. Aro, Caius and Marcus decided that with such a large coven, we all had to go to them to … pass judgment.”

“What had they done?” My voice was barely a whisper. I couldn’t imagine that family doing anything wrong.

He looked my way and grimaced. “You have been there, tell me, was there anything out of the ordinary?”

I cocked my head and thought back. There were shapeshifters, could that be it? I doubted it. Vampires couldn’t make shapeshifters, right? Than, perhaps …

“There was a child. Some sort of mix between a human and a vampire. Was that it? But she could hardly be a threat.”

“You know the rule, turning children is forbidden. It’s too dangerous. We thought she was such a child.”

I wrinkled my forehead and thought about it. Jane was barely old enough, when she lost her temper, she could cause a lot of damage. To a vampire mind, but even more to humans. What if she had been even younger, without restraint, without control. My nose scrunched up, yes, I could see the danger.

“But Renesmee isn’t a full vampire. She was, well looked older than Jane, when I was there.”

Demetri nodded. “Yes, and that is why they are still alive. We came to an … understanding. But they will never forgive us for wanting to end the threat.”

In my mind I heard the infectious laughter of the girl and some form of protectiveness surged through me. I could imagine how her family, her parents, must feel about anyone trying to hurt their daughter. Would I ever forgive anyone for that?

Vampires couldn’t have children, but they could love passionately. If anyone even so much as pointed a finger at my Demetri, I would have a very hard time letting that go.

One thing I didn’t quite understand yet, so I asked: “What do the Romanians have to do with all that?”

“Ah, yes. They were there, on the battlefield. Hoping to do a bit of damage if a fight had came to pass.”

The word battlefield caused the image in my mind to shift from a conversation similar to the one we had in Alaska, to a full out second world war scenario and I bared my teeth. Demetri could have been hurt that day. I grabbed his hands and his eyebrows shot up as he took in my expressing.

“Hey, it’s alright. Nothing happened. And even if it did, we could have handled it. Perhaps we should have, than we wouldn’t have to be here, today.”

“No, I don’t want you to have to fight. Please, promise me you won’t fight any war.”

“I promise”, Demetri hastily said, but then he frowned. “Ariadne.”

My eyes widened in shock. “Sorry, I take it back. Oh this is terrible. I could do so much damage with this power. Perhaps I shouldn’t go with you.”

He sighed and pulled me closer, so my head rested against his chest. His hands rubbed my back and slowly I felt the distress leave me.

“Trust me,” he whispered, “you don’t have to worry about me. Just think, before you speak.”

“Do you think I can undo my own commands?”

“I don’t know, perhaps we have to test it.”

“On you?” I leaned back in horror.

He laughed. “I prefer not. But come, the sun is low enough, we can go see if someone is around who will be cooperative.”

The idea of using a random person to test my theories on, made me uneasy, but I had to know how this gift worked.


	12. Chapter 12

We drove to a small village at the foot of the mountain that was already hidden in its shadow. Not many people were about, but we left the center and didn’t stop until we got to a house that looked significantly better than the ones in the village. The moment we stepped out of the car, the door opened and a cautious looking man came outside. A woman appeared behind him, but he shoved her back inside. They were vampires, like us and for a moment I envied them their quiet life.

“Georgy,” Demetri greeted, his hands open in a friendly gesture, “we’ve merely come to talk. About a rumor you passed on recently.”

I wondered for a second when Demetri received this information, seeing I was with him every minute of every day for the past week. Had they known before our wedding? Perhaps even before I had arrived?

The man, Georgy, relaxed a little and nodded. With a thick accent he replied: “Yes, I have heard telling, about the old ones. They rebuild a castle. I don’t know much.”

Demetri gazed my way and I took a step forward. This was it, my first real command. I took a deep breath, concentrated on what I wanted and said: “Tell us everything you’ve heard about them.”

The result was instantaneous. At top speed, Georgy repeated every single word he had been told about whom he had referred to as old ones. They were all parts of conversations, sometimes the words didn’t make much sense, but I realized he was literally repeating what he had heard. It was indeed not very much, but probably a bit more than he had intended to say in the first place. It revealed his own involvement in a few secrets that could be considered as treason and I saw how his eyes became filled with fear as he could not stop himself from incriminating him and his partner.

Silence filled the heavy air, when he finally stopped and I could see his hands shake. Mine shook as well and I hid them in my pockets.

Demetri raised one eyebrow at me with approval in his eyes and said, taking a step forward: “Well well, that was quite … entertaining.”

“What did she do to me?” The man breathed heavily, looking at me with terror.

“Nothing but ask you to tell the truth. And you did, for which we are grateful. It seems you’ve turned quite a blind eye these past few years. Why have you only told us now?”

Deflating, figuring he had nothing else to loose, Georgy answered: “They are recruiting, I didn’t want to be on the hit list. Yes, I’ve turned a blind eye, but they would have destroyed us, otherwise.”

Taking a few more steps, Demetri said, anger in his voice which concerned me even more: “You should have warned us the instant you found out. Aro won’t be pleased and you will be punished.”

“No!”

The shout came from two mouths. Mine and the woman who now raced outside to position herself in front of Georgy. She had her hands held up, ready for a fight.

“Don’t do anything”, I yelled again, but I wasn’t sure whom I was talking to. They all froze and I forced myself to release some of the tension inside me.

I took a deep breath, felt my lungs expand and released the air again before I spoke: “Demetri, please, take a step back.” I hoped the pleading in my voice would keep my words from being a command. When he looked my way and pursed his lips, I sighed, it worked.

“Please”, I whispered again.

His shoulders lowered and looking back at the two vampires in front of him, he stepped back until he was next to me again.

I decided it was time to get some answers to the questions that had been going through my mind, so I looked at the woman and ordered: “Forget everything about us and go back inside.”

She blinked a few times, turned around and walked back into the house without as much as a gaze our way. Georgy was next. I could see the fear in his eyes and I hesitated. Should I do the same to him? Just make him forget us? Would that be enough to keep them safe? From the Romanians he seemed to fear, perhaps, but what he knew could still haunt him if Aro found out.

I swallowed the venom that had risen as bile and said at last: “Forget everything you know about the old ones. You have heard nothing, have not helped them, there is nothing you can tell anyone. Just go on and live your life in peace.”

All the lines faded in Georgy’s face. He relaxed, shook his head in confusion and then looked at us as if he didn’t see us till now.

“Demetri? What brings you here?”

Demetri frowned, pondered a moment in which I held my breath and then asked: “We came to search for Vladimir and Stefan. What can you tell us about them?”

Georgy seemed confused at first. Would my command work? Did he really forget everything?

“Who?”

I sighed in relief, and next to me, Demetri also sighed, but when I looked at him, he didn’t look very happy.

“Never mind,” he muttered, “go about your business.”

\---

Demetri didn’t speak until we were back in the car and he didn’t look at me when he asked: “Why did you do that?”

He was mad, I could tell, but I knew what I did was right.

“They were afraid, caught between two fires. I didn’t want them to get hurt just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“They helped our enemies, you heard them.”

I had never seen Demetri angry before and he had never before raised his voice in my presence. Especially not directed at me. It caused my already trembling hands to shake even more, but I didn’t back down. I had done the right thing. He just had to see that.

“They would have been killed if they hadn’t, you heard them.”

“They will be killed anyway. If not by the Romanians then by us.”

“Why?” I yelled. “Why can’t they just live in peace? They bother no one. Why can’t you just let them be?”

“Because Aro will know. No matter if they won’t remember, Aro will know and he will punish them.”

He finally turned my way, his red eyes ablaze. “You were sent here to provide information, Ariadne, not pass judgment. Your power doesn’t give you the right to do as you please.”

“And Aro’s does?”

“Do not compare yourself to him.” His hiss instantly silenced me.

He was right. My eyes widened, unshed tears behind my eyelids caused pain. What had I done? I used my power as I saw fit. Even trying to do the right thing, I still took away someones memories. I changed a persons views, took away their right to choose their own fate.

And yes, Aro would find out and he most likely would condemn the couple for their involvement. Only this time it would be so much worse, because they might never remember why they were being punished.

I hid my face in my hands and wanted to cry my eyes out, but of course I couldn’t and so I groaned.

Demetri’s hands pulled me against him and with a soft voice, all anger dissipated, he said: “Shh, it’s alright. This is why you are here. To learn about your powers. To be able to control them.”

I didn’t want to have to control them. In fact, I didn’t want them anymore. Perhaps they could protect me, but this instant just showed me that so much harm could be done with them.

“Why aren’t you angry with me?” I whispered. “I used my powers on you. I can’t control them, I will hurt you.”

“I am not angry with you, Ariadne. I love you, and I don’t care if you sometimes order me around.”

I looked up, into his eyes, all creases were gone and a soft smile played around his lips.

“I love you to”, I whispered.

He kissed me then, slowly at first. There was, however still so much tension inside me, that, when his thumbs caressed my throat, I pressed myself against him and kneaded my fingers in his hair. The kiss deepened at once and in the narrow space the front of the car provided, I began to tuck on his jacked, when suddenly a thought hit me.

With a gasp I leaned back. “What if I could undo it. Make him remember again. We could see if the memory is really gone, or just hidden?”

Demetri’s expression turned exasperated and then resigned.

“Fine, we’ll test your theory and then go to Sighișoara.”

We got out of the car and I rushed to the front door of the house where we had met Georgy not ten minutes ago.

This time I knocked on the door before they heard us and when Georgy opened it, I immediately said: “Remember everything I had told you to forget.”

I waited, taking a step back, a little afraid he might be angry once he remembered again, but nothing happened. I looked in his eyes, seeking the loss of focus that we saw before, but it didn’t happen. Georgy frowned in confusion and when the woman appeared and asked who we were, I stumbled backwards.

“Remember us”, I almost whispered, but she only shook her head.

“I’m sorry, I don’t. What is this about?”

Demetri pulled me softly away. “Just a misunderstanding. We will leave you now.”

\---

We drove through the night, all the way to the center of Romania, where Georgy told us the newly erected castle stood. He didn’t remember anymore. His memories were truly forgotten. I hadn’t really believed it until I’d seen the confusion on the faces of the two vampires whose lives I’d altered.

Demetri, besides me, was also quiet. What was going on in his mind? Did he fear me, now? I really could make him forget. No matter what he said to me earlier, my power was that strong. It scared me.

When he stopped, the night a black canvas surrounding us, he took my hand.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“But I am”, I whispered. “I can do terrible things and I won’t be able to fix them.”

“Then change it.”

I furrowed my brow. “Change what?”

“Order me to never let you command me.”

I made to object, but my mouth stopped before a word could be formed. This time I blinked. Could I do that? Would my power work like that? It would counteract itself.

“Do you think that could work?”

He shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out. You won’t hurt me by trying.”

He was right. I widened my eyes, closed my mouth and searched for the right words. It wasn’t so simple. If I would say: ‘never obey me’, he could end up opposing everything I said. ‘Never let me command you’ could make him stop me from speaking to him at all.

“What are you waiting for?”

I bit the inside of my cheek and shook my head. “I have to think about what to say. If I say the wrong thing, we could have a big problem.”

His chin moved as he digested my words. “Yes, I see what you mean.”

“I think”, I stared outside and then focused again. “I think I got it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, this will do it. Here goes.” I took his hands, heaved a deep sigh, looked him straight in the eyes and said: “My power doesn’t work on you.”

After that I held my breath. I saw him straighten up a little and then blink. That was the sign that my command was heeded. But did it work?

“Did it work?” I asked, squeezing his hands.

“I don’t know. Order me to do something.”

“Ehm… kiss me.”

He smiled. “That’s not a very good test, I would have done that anyway.” But he didn’t lean forward.

“It worked, you didn’t kiss me”, I shouted. But then Demetri did lean forward to capture my lips with his. Was that merely a delayed reaction?

“Shh, we could be within hearing range. Don’t want to alert them to our presence, now, do we?”

I shook my head. “Let me test it one more time.”

He nodded and I looked him sternly in the eye as I said: “Leave the car.”

No straightening up. No blinking. No movement.

“We did it!” This time the volume of my joyous outcry barely made it above a whisper.

However my elation faded when Demetri frowned.

“If others find out how they can be immune to your power, they will come after you, force you to do the same to them. You have to make me forget how this was done.”

“No.”

“You have to. Aro can read my mind and he will know. He will make you do the same to him. He will always see you as a threat, no matter how fond he is of you.”

“But he can read my thoughts as well.”

“You can stop him from ever trying.”

“How?”

“Make yourself forget as well.”

Make myself forget? How would I … a mirror, of course. I could order myself. I didn’t like the idea any more than making Demetri forget. So much could go wrong.

I was about to object, when a large boulder landed on top of the car. It crashed the windows in a thousand little pieces. I screamed, and my fingers clawed at the bend in roof to find a way out of the wreck. My eyes tried to look everywhere at the same time and in the end I rested them on Demetri. Why was he so still. A boulder couldn’t kill a vampire, right? With a grunt I pushed the rock off the car and pulled the rooftop away. There was a fracture running across Demetri’s face. Like a cracked marble surface.

“No”, I choked. I bent forward and touched his skin. “No.”

Was he dead? Would he heal? I wanted to cry and yell at him to come back to me.

Movement behind him made me gasp. A hand reached for Demetri, fingers clawed, ready to grab my still unmoving husband and I did the only thing I could do.

“Don’t!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The short man glanced my way as I continued in one breath: “Don’t hurt him, don’t kill us!”


	13. Chapter 13

That saved our lives.

The hand retreated and as I watched the fracture on Demetri’s face finally disappeared. With a start he inhaled, looked to his left, then back at me and with one swift motion he pushed me back and crouched in front of me. What was left of the car flew away like it weighed nothing and a loud crash echoed through the mountains surrounding us. In front of us now stood two very similar creatures. Even though the night was pitch black, I could see they were very old. The same papery skin that gave away Aro’s age also tainted these men. One with dark hair, one with ashy blond.

I quickly repeated my command not to harm us and saw how their eyes squinted in equal confusion.

“Who are you?” The dark haired man asked, looking at me, hands balled to fists, restrained by my words.

“She is under Aro’s protection. You’d do well to heed that warning.” Demetri hissed between his teeth. My eyes quickly scanned his face, but nothing of the break remained. I exhaled in relief.

“Aaah, my old friend, Aro. Still won’t come out of his hiding place, won’t he.”

The voice wasn’t as raspy as those of the three ancient members of the Volturi and I also noticed that the eyes of these Romanians weren’t covered by a milky film. Theirs shone bright and hatred burned within them.

“Did you come here to check on us, like you’ve done so many times before?”

“Or did you come to destroy us?”

“You can try.”

“But you won’t succeed.”

Their voices interchanged, with barely a difference in structure or pitch. They creeped me out even more than Caius did.

“I think”, the light haired one said as he turned to look at his partner, “they have come here to see our new castle.”

“Yes, I am surprised they waited this long.”

“Shall we invite them over?”

Both turned their heads back our way and smiled with fake delight.

I didn’t dare to take my eyes of them, ready to shout an order should the need arise. Should we just make a run for it? Command them to stay here and flee? Or should we follow them, see the castle, so we could give Aro more information. At least, if we lived to tell. I commanded these two not to hurt us, but there could be others.

From my peripheral vision I saw Demetri stand up straight and I copied him. With his chin held high, he said: “We are merely here to observe, if you don’t harm us in any way, we will come and … discuss.”

“We cannot harm you.”

“This young one has seen to that.”

“We accept your offer.”

“You are invited. We will discuss our options.”

With one flowing move, the men, both clad in black, turned and began to walk away from us. Demetri took my hand, gave me a questioning glance and when I nodded, we followed.

\---

For us vampires, the trip didn’t last long. We went straight up a mountain, until the silhouette of a dark castle came into view. It looked like they wanted to bring back the myth of Count Dracula. Wasn’t that in Romania as well?

The men waited for us at the entrance. Huge wooden doors with heavy metal fittings opened to the inside with a creaking noise that only enhanced the feeling of impending doom. I wouldn’t have been so scared, had I not seen what a large piece of rock could do to a so called immortal. The question if it really could have killed him lay on my tongue, but I was too afraid to speak. We were walking into the belly of the beast and there was nobody around to help us. I found myself wishing Felix was here and that was saying something.

On the other side of the castle doors was a large hall. No fire, no chandeliers that illuminated the place, not even rugs on the floor gave any indication that someone lived here. It was a cold, damp place and I was grateful I couldn’t feel either.

Like in the large tower room, where the Volturi held court, this room also featured two chars. A little less grand and extravagant, but no less thrones. Yet, instead of sitting down in them, our hosts lead us into an antechamber, that was slightly less intimidating. For one, there hung torches on the walls that the dark haired vampire quickly lit.

“Please, have a seat.”

“We had not taken such lovely visitors into account. If we had known”,

“we would have cleaned.”

They chuckled in unison.

Still holding Demetri’s hand, I sat down on a sofa that looked a little out of place. It had flowers on the light green fabric.

“Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Vladimir”, the ash blond vampire said.

“And I am Stefan”, his counterpart added.

They ignored Demetri and looked at me with similar expressions of expectation.

“Ariadne”, I curtly replied, worrying if saying my name gave them some sort of power over me.

“You did not come here to kill us.” Vladimir, only an inch taller than Stefan, stated this as a fact.

“No”, I replied anyway.

“Tell us, why did you come?”

I looked at Demetri, who looked back, narrowed his eyes a bit and said, still eying my way: “We merely came to observe, as I told you before. There have been rumors.”

Stefan leaned backward against the back of the high chair he was sitting on. “Ah, yes, rumors. Fear. No doubt our Italian friends”, he spoke the word with venom, “are afraid of retaliation.”

“From what?” I asked, before checking myself.

“This castle”, Stefan’s arms motioned around them, “is the first we’ve build after your patrons burned down the last one.”

I didn’t know that. How long ago was this? Years? Decades? Perhaps even a millennium. Why wait so long? Did they want revenge? Than why were we invited inside? For them to tell us all their plans? They already knew what I could do. Their lack of fear kind of impressed me, but also made me suspicious. Especially when Vladimir left the room and closed the door behind him.

“Where is he going?”

“To get some refreshments”, Stefan grinned.

Refreshments. Demetri grasped that meaning before I did, but when he looked at me with concern, I knew. He wasn’t talking about a cup of tea. Refreshments for a vampire meant …

The door opened again and Vladimir reappeared, with trailing him: a young girl who looked terrified and about to faint. In her trembling hands she held a leash, which held a small dog.

Aghast I wrinkled my nose. They were joking. They had to be joking.

“What kind of sick joke is this?” I jumped up and took a step back. Demetri was there, also on his feet, looking at the girl with a cool, calculating expression.

“We are familiar with your peculiar taste, we only aim to please.”

“Let them go”, I commanded, furious.

Vladimir’s stance changed infinitesimally, but he to was no match for my power. With a small flick of his wrist, he motioned the girl to leave. She looked at me, her eyes watery, petrified.

I softly urged her. “Go, run home.”

She took a step back, but still didn’t leave the room.

“Ah, yes, I forgot to mention”, Stefan chuckled, “this is her home, had I not mentioned that? We are lord and master here. Prey comes to us, it’s quite the honor to be chosen to serve here.”

“An honor?” My voice almost jumped.

Vladimir and Stefan weren’t very impressed by my outburst, there was still a slight smile in their faces.

“Tell her, dear, what an honor it is to live here.”

The girl was shaking so badly now, it was a miracle she could speak at all. Stuttering and faltering, she managed to squeak: “M… my fam- family is s- safe because of … of m- me.”

I didn’t need an explanation of what that meant. “You are threatening her family. How many more like here do you have captive in this dungeon?”

Demetri inched a bit closer, grabbing my free arm with his other hand.

The smiles on the faces of the ancient vampires evaporated.

“They all come of their own free will. We never lie about who we are. They know we protect the town from neighboring covens or incidental visitors. In return, we only ask a meager donation once in a while.”

“Who cares about one little life, they can easily beget more.”

“We have saved more lives than we took.”

I opened my mouth, but this time Stefan halted me. The kindness, however false it had been, had completely disappeared.

“Whatever you do, know that they will pay the price.”

And before I could even utter a syllable, he moved over to the girl, sank his teeth in her neck and killed her with one swift bite.

A silent scream left my mouth and all I could do was watch as the life drained out of her. The smell of her sweet scented blood filled the room, causing even my venom to rise. It disgusted me. Guilt overtook me and a helpless groan passed my lips. This was all my fault. We should have left when we had the chance. The girl would still be alive if we had.

A little voice in the back of my head told me she would have died eventually, but I silenced it. I needed to get out of here. This was something Aro had to handle. This required the law, not a stupid girl with a superpower she could not control.

“I want to leave”, I forced out in a chocking voice.

Vladimir’s denigrating smile returned. “Of course, child. Go, run back to Aro, tell him no laws are broken here.”

He opened the door for us and as Demetri released my other arm, we walked past him, past Stefan, who dropped the girls dead body with a satisfied grin and past the dog who cowered in a corner. Our speed increased after we crossed the threshold, but when we got to the place where the car was wrecked, Demetri halted me.

“Ariadne, slow down.”

“She died, because of me. I killed her.” My voice broke into a sob as I turned and allowed him to wrap me up in his embrace.

“You didn’t kill her, Stefan did.”

“Please don’t say she would have died eventually, that won’t help.”

Demetri only pressed me closer.

“We have to do something. There could be other children in there, we have to help them.” I felt so angry I wanted to break something.

“We’ll tell Aro, let him take care of it.”

“But you heard them, they’re breaking no laws, Aro can’t do anything.”

Demetri pressed me back a little, to look me in the eye. “You’re forgetting the most important rule. To keep hidden from the human world. This particular part of that world might not be so enlightened as the part where you grew up in, but it only takes one to inform those who are. Vladimir and Stefan are so old, they still believe they can get away with superstition. Aro will see the danger in their unobstructed continuance, he will step in.”

His words calmed me, just enough for the next worry to present itself.

“But then you will have to fight.”

“Don’t you think we can handle two short vampires?”

“No, you don’t get it. They will harm more children. And how do you know there aren’t more of them? They could have an entire army hidden somewhere in that castle. Waiting for you to come in, thinking it will be an easy win.”

When I said this, Demetri looked up, in the direction of the castle. It was hidden from sight by high rocks and lines of trees. I could see him digesting my words.

“I see your point. We need more information.”

I knew what that meant. I meant we couldn’t leave yet. Part of me wished I hadn’t said anything. Let Aro fix it. But Demetri was sure to be part of that fix and if there really was an army, he would be in danger.

My eyes roamed the mountainside. Nothing moved. They probably thought we were halfway home by now. They would never expect us to double back, would they?

Demetri still held my hand in his and when my eyes found his again, he pulled me in for a searing kiss.

“Don’t do anything stupid”, he breathed, when he finally released me. “I don’t care how many humans die, I only care about you.”

I didn’t argue. If I told him I wouldn’t let anyone else die because of me, he would make me stay behind and that would not happen. He looked as if there was something else he wanted to say, but he didn’t. Instead he gave one nod, kissed the back of my hand where the ring was securely around my finger and pointed at a different route to the village.


	14. Chapter 14

There were many small cottages, most seemed to have been build from scrap. Some were just caves with a door made out of wooden panels. I couldn’t believe people still lived like this. Everybody was asleep. Weren’t they afraid with two vampires so close by?

I didn’t want to wait till daybreak, so we crept into one of the houses and woke up the inhabitants. As soon as the man we woke first, looked my way, I whispered: “Don’t scream.”

He closed his mouth and looked at us with terrified eyes. For a moment I wondered what he saw that was so scary, until it dawned on me that he couldn’t really see us. It was much to dark for human eyes.

Perhaps all the better.

“Tell us about the men in the castle”, I ordered.

“They are vampires, like Dracula”, the man spoke with an even thicker accent. I could barely understand him. He spoke too loud and woke his wife, whom I quickly silenced.

“Why don’t you leave, when you know what they are?”

“They protect us. Make sure we don’t get killed.”

I frowned. “But they do kill you.”

“Only a few. They give their lives for us. Our protectors need their blood. It is an honor.”

Wide eyed, I stared at Demetri. “How can they believe that? They sacrifice their children and call it an honor?”

“Ask about the army, we don’t need to know anything else.”

I closed my eyes for a brief second. Everything about this situation was wrong, but Demetri was right. If these people wánted to be slaves, I couldn’t stop them.

“Tell me, do they have an army?”

“I don’t know about an army.” The face of the man became confused. In the dark he sought out his wife’s hand and I saw her lips tremble.

I pursed my lips, it wasn’t really the answer I wanted. Would any of these humans even know? What if no one knew, would we have to go back into the castle ourselves?

“Tell me who can know about these things?”

“There is a man, he is the caretaker when the masters are away. He lives in the brick house near the wall.”

Figuring there was nothing more we could learn from there folks, I said: “Thank you. Now forget everything you heard or saw tonight and go back to sleep.”

I already knew that worked, so I felt no remorse when Demetri and I sneaked out of the shack.

We found the house with relative ease.

Demetri sniffed the air. “He’s human. And alone.”

I tried to mimic what he did. The air smelled sweet, the smell of human blood. It made my throat burn, but I pressed the thirst down. I wasn’t hungry and Demetri seemed not to be bothered when he was around humans. I could be equally strong. After all, I wasn’t a newborn.

The image of the crazed vampire who lost his head the first day I was in Volterra, crossed my mind and I flinched. What if the army was made of newborns. Like the one I had been created for. Raw power, unbridled thirst for blood.

“Everything alright?” Demetri whispered near my ear.

“Yeah, lets get this over with.”

We moved inside, found the man and woke him up. I hushed him like I had done with the other two and began asking questions.

“Tell me, how many humans live in the castle?”

“Always four”, came the swift answer. There was less fear in the eyes of this man. A tooth was missing up front and his chin was shaved in a messy way. The odor of his blood was mixed with other things. I could recognize it now that we were close and all of a sudden he didn’t smell so appealing anymore.

“Do they have an army?”

“Yes.”

I sucked in air, which was a mistake and I quickly released it again.

“How big?”

He seemed to need more direct questions, so I asked again: “Tell me, how big is this army?”

This, he could not misunderstand and through gritted teeth, he answered: “Thirty, or so.”

“We need to go, now”, Demetri spoke in haste. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the house.

“Wait, I have to make him forget.”

“No time, they are coming.”

I couldn’t sense anything, but I trusted Demetri’s instinct over my own. We ran away from the wall, but all of a sudden we collided with someone who came at us from the opposite direction. Demetri pushed me out of the way and I flew a few yards until I landed on my side. My head whipped back to where he was and I saw how the attacker was joined by two more. Vampires. Their ayes almost shining, so bright. They gnarled at Demetri, who held his fists up, but couldn’t possibly win against three newborns.

I jumped up and ran back to him. The minute the attackers looked my way and Demetri yelled: “No, Ariadne, stay back!” I shouted: “Stop!”

The effect was instantaneous. All three vampires froze.

I took another step forward and lifted my chin, as I demanded: “Forget the orders from your masters and return to the castle.”

They grumbled unintelligently, moved a bit back and forth, but then turned, one by one and jogged away. My eyes followed them back up the hill, until I felt Demetri’s arms wrap around me.

“You. Are. Amazing.”

He nuzzled my cheek, but then pulled me with him again. This time we didn’t stop until we crossed the border.

\---

When dawn came upon us, Demetri guided us to a shiny lake that lay clustered between high mountain sides. Several waterfalls ended their journey here and even though the rays of the sun didn’t touch the surface yet, I could already see this was a magical place.

Except for the sound the water made, everything around us was quiet. We couldn’t smell human scent for miles and animals didn’t dare to come near us. For a moment I wondered why Demetri brought me here, but then his lips captured mine in an almost desperate motion.

I clutched him, not understanding the sudden need, but feeling it in my gut. It wasn’t until he traded my mouth for my neck, shoulder, collarbone, removing the clothing as he went, that I heard him whisper: “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

I wanted to ask what he meant, but my breath hitched as his hands roamed my now naked upper body.

“Seeing you running up to me, to face those brutes”, he unfastened his shawl and jacked with jerky moves and pressed me against a boulder that crumbled beneath my back. “I can’t loose you.”

He paused for a tiny fraction of a second, to look me in the eye and I gasped. Then the last pieces of our clothing were out of the way and as he sank inside me, I heard him repeat: “I can’t loose you.”

\---

Afterwards, my hands rubbed his back in slow circles. We lay next to the water, looking up at the sunlight touching the top of the mountain to our left. The desperation had finally left us. If I still had a heartbeat, I guessed this would be the time it slowed down to its normal rhythm.

Somehow, it no longer felt as if I’d only known Demetri for a few weeks. It was like a lifetime had passed since we left our house and went to Romania. I had seen it in his eyes, when he looked at me. In that infinitesimal moment, I could see my whole world. No matter where I would be or what I would do, from now on Demetri was all that mattered and I knew I couldn’t lose him either.

\---

When the sun almost touched us, we got dressed and continued our journey. Aro let us in even before the knock on the wooden door finished its echo. And before he could ask or demand any of our hands, I related our whole adventure. It wasn’t difficult to leave the part out where I had taken away my power over Demetri. There was enough to distract Aro and the others from anything that might be skipped.

In detail I described the castle and the village and the hold the Romanian vampires had over the poor people there. I wanted to describe the newborn army, but Demetri took over from there. Giving information and details I hadn’t known were important. His explanation was a bit more sedated, except for the part in the end. His eyes were on fire as he described how I commanded the raging newborns. I could see how it was still difficult for him, having seen me throw myself in harms way.

For a minute all eyes were on me, but then Aro took control.

“It seems we will have to deal with our enemies at last. And this time make sure they won’t be able to return. Leave us to rest, my friends, we will discuss the course of action.”

We didn’t need rest, but I knew what he meant. For as long or short – probably the latter – as we had, we could spend the time the way we pleased. There was no way either of us would remain behind the next time Romania became a mission.

“Teach me how to fight”, I pleaded, as we rounded the corner that led away from the grand hall.

“Now?”

Demetri’s eyes told me he’d rather do something else. Something that also included physical contact, yet a bit less violent.

I smirked and pressed my body against his, as I whispered: “After. First I need to know how to free myself, so I can look my attacker in the eye.”

“Do you think that matters? You stopped all three of the newborns at once with one command.”

Taking a small step back, but still keeping my arms wrapped around his neck, I frowned. “They all looked my way. As did the humans in the dark, even if they couldn’t see me. I don’t know if my power works without some connection.”

“Then we shall test that first. If it does, we’ll spend our time my way.” He ran a finger down my face all the way down to where my skin was covered by the low cut shirt I wore under the leather jacket I’d chosen for the trip. I almost wished he would be right about my gift, but I really wanted to learn how to fight.

With a sigh, Demetri took my hand and we walked to the gym. A few vampires were sparring, Felix was not among them and I didn’t know the others by name. Demetri gestured for me to go ahead and I swallowed. What command could I use to test my gift without them noticing?

After a short deliberation I softly spoke in the general direction of the three fighting men: “Stop fighting for one moment.”

Perhaps it was too subtle. Only one of them lost his focus for a second and he was facing me, though not looking at me directly.

“Try it louder, with more conviction.”

Demetri’s suggestion however, made all three of the fighters look our way, so the exercise became pointless. Fine, so they realized what I was trying to do, now. They might as well help. I walked forward and asked: “I need to determine my limits, will you help us?”

“You are the one with the mind control thing, aren’t you?” the one on the left asked. He wasn’t angry, so I smiled a bit.

“I guess you could call it that. I need to know if it works when someone isn’t facing me.”

He shrugged and looked to his mates. “Fine by me, as long as I don’t end up doing the funky chicken.”

I raised my eyebrows, that was the first modern expression I’d heard since I came to Volterra. Good to know not everyone here lived in the past.

“Turn around”, I ordered, and they immediately did.

“Okay, yeah, felt that”, the same vampire commented.

“Walk to the left”, I ordered with the same inclination.

This time, however, there was a slight jerking motion, but none of them turned to walk.

“So much for ordering someone I can’t see”, I muttered.

The chatty one looked over his shoulder and said: “I did feel something, but I didn’t feel the need to comply. Perhaps in time, you’ll learn to strengthen it.

My eyebrows shot up. Was that possible, to advance my gift?

“Any more you’d like us to do?” The three of them faced me again.

I was about to say no, when a thought occurred to me. “Do any of you speak Greek?”

Two of the three shook their heads.

“Okay, let me try this. _Perpatíste pros ta aristerá_. Only the one who did speak Greek, turned and walked to the left, as I ordered him. The other two responded to the command by straightening up a little, but other than that they didn’t move.

“Hmm, it seems they grasp the power of the command, but are unable to comply because they don’t understand.”

A sinking feeling overtook my good mood. Apparently there were a lot of restrictions to my gift. Enemies who didn’t speak my language wouldn’t obey me. I guessed I had been lucky up till now. It might also explain why the newborns had grumbled a bit before obeying. If their English was bad, it took a while for their brains to process the order.

I made to walk away from the gym, not feeling like fighting anymore, but was halted by the one vampire I had managed to order to walk. He was still walking.

“Care to give me back control?”

I opened my mouth, but Demetri halted me. “Walk out of the room.” As I looked at him questioning, he explained: “Another test, to see how long a command lasts.”

The vampire, it was the chatty one, shrugged, still walking in circles. So I left the room and waited in the hall.

Demetri’s voice came to me through the door he now closed: “Go to the other side of the manor and then come back.”

It didn’t take me long to reach the other side. I counted to ten and ran back. When I opened the door, the vampire was still walking to the left. He scowled at me as he passed me, but he didn’t really look upset.

“Interesting”, Demetri pondered. The other two vampires began to laugh.

“I guess you would not like to walk in circles a bit longer to determine how long it lasts?”

The laughing increased and I bit my lip.

“I’d rather not, no.”

Quickly I said, when he looked my way: “you can stop walking.”

He did, took a few more steps and grinned. “Thanks, that’s one tricky gift you have there.”

I frowned. “Tricky indeed. Do you think it has something to do with the way I give the order?”

The other two vampires lost interest and resumed their sparring, but the one who spoke Greek joined us at our spot near the door.

“Perhaps with the intention.”

Demetri interjected: “I might simply have something to do with the content of the command itself. Turn around is a singular order. Only one action is required, just like ‘stop’. But the command to walk is indefinite in itself.”

“You might be on to something”, the chatty vampire agreed.

“What is your name?” I asked, it seemed a bit unusual to keep talking to someone I didn’t even know the name of.

“Nikos, you can call me Nick. You’re Ariadne, Demetri’s sudden wife.” He grinned as Demetri threw him a dirty look, but I giggled. I liked this vampire. And not just because he was probably Greek, like us.

“So, anything more we can test?” Nick rubbed his hands together and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“Not unless you want to collect the entire guard to check how many people I can command at once”, I joked.

The men looked at each other, Nick with eyebrows still raised and Demetri with a frown.

“Guys, I was joking.”

“It would be a good test. To see if she could stop an entire army at once. That would save us a lot of trouble in the future.”

“Not gonna happen”, Demetri suddenly growled fiercely.

Nick took a step back and lifted both hands. “Wow, easy there, I wasn’t suggesting anything.”

I placed my hand on Demetri’s arm. “It’s alright, I’m sure Aro will come up with a better plan than that.”

“Plan? What plan? Plan for what?”

I left it to Demetri to explain the situation, everyone would hear soon enough. In the meantime I mulled over all the different things that could influence my power.


	15. Chapter 15

It took the Volturi leaders three days to muster their forces and lay out a plan. It involved Demetri, of course. Cause even though we all knew where the castle was, there was always the possibility that Vladimir and Stefan had moved their army.

And because Demetri was going, so was I. It wasn’t a question. It didn’t matter if Aro wanted me to, or not. I would go, because there was no way in hell I would sit at home worrying. I would stay on the sidelines, because three days of fight training was hardly enough to make me able to go up against newborns. Nick would stay with me, his gift wasn’t particularly incredible, but his small amount of shielding would prevent anyone to throw a boulder on me.

Our number outweighed the army, as it was when we left Romania. There was always the possibility that there were even more newborns now, but we had a lot of power on our side. I didn’t care much for working besides Jane, but if she would help to keep my Demetri safe, I would endure it.

Chelsea would be there. With her husband, Afton, to repel anyone who tried to come near her. Caius, Marcus and the wives would stay in Volterra, protected by others, but Aro would come with us.

I wondered how we would travel to Romania with such a large group, but before I could even begin to ask anyone about it, something changed.

The moment we stepped outside in the middle of the night, Demetri snarled. It actually shocked me.

“They are moving. Fast.”

Aro was in front of him before he finished speaking. Behind him was a woman who seemed much to scared to be venturing on such a journey. However Renata was Aro’s personal shield and no matter where he went, she went as well.

“Whereto?” Aro’s raspy voice asked. I could not make out whether he was pissed his enemies eluded him, or resigned.

“North. I can find them, but not before the reach the Arctic.”

Why would they go there? Where were they heading? Just running away? They had to know Demetri would find them anywhere.

Aro took a few minutes to deliberate, but then he decided: “We will deal with them later. Let us clean up whatever mess they left behind.”

\---

What that mess was, we learned as we came close enough to smell it. Chaos.

Because speed was of the issue, we’d abstained from cars or buses or whatever is was they used for an outing – a thought that was ridiculous, but crossed my mind anyway – and ran. We were up front and so we smelled it first.

Blood.

A whole lot of blood.

I immediately stopped breathing and saw how Demetri did the same. His grasp on my hand became fiercer as we bolted through the forest, straight for the castle.

Aro was right behind us. A few times along the way I had looked at him. His black suit, without the cloak and hood, made him seem so much younger, but the almost translucent skin still seemed so brittle. His speed was almost the same as mine. I knew Demetri held back for my sake and so did some of the others, but the strangest sight I had ever seen must be a running Aro.

As if he had heard my thoughts, he looked my way and smirked. Perhaps he liked it, considering he probably didn’t get out much.

But now we stood still. The village was just up ahead. Our whole party spread out across the line of the forest that surrounded the castle.

I knew what was happening and it sickened me.

Vladimir and Stefan might have fled, as they had done over a thousand years, but they’d left their army behind.

Was it all because we had escaped, with the knowledge? Was this all our fault?

I trembled.

Aro’s order was swift. “Destroy the newborns.”

There was no longer a need for us to stay covert. The guard fanned out and enclosed the village. Some screams were still heard, made by terrified humans who had yet to be caught. This could not have been going on that long, if they were still alive.

Now that our true enemies were no longer here, Nick joined the others. Demetri pulled me away from the village center, towards the brick house we visited before. He probably followed the mind of the caretaker, which meant the man was still alive.

He was. Cowering in a corner, a torch in his hand that he waved frantically at us.

“Put it down”, I ordered, sick to my stomach as to what we might learn from him.

I forced my guilt down and commanded: “Tell us what happened after your masters left.”

“I went to then, told them what you had learned from me. They sent three of them after you, to kill you. When they failed, my masters ordered me to collect all the strong men and bring them to the castle. They turned them all into them.”

Anger rose as I digested the poorly uttered words that came out of the mouth of the filthy caretaker.

He continued because he had no choice, but I’d rather not hear any more.

“After three days, when there were no more men, they locked everybody up and ordered me to wait one day and then release them. So I did.”

When it became clear that there was no more to tell, Demetri stepped forward and snapped the mans neck. The action was so calm that at first I thought he merely took the mans head in his hands to ask something else. The crack of the bones shattering under his fingers made me gasp. This was exactly the thing I had hoped never to witness. Yet, if his anger resembled mine even a little bit, I could understand why he did it.

This man had been worse than those who had sold their children for peace. Worse even than the newborns who would loose their lives again this night. He had betrayed his entire village, damned everyone. And the sad part was, he probably thought he would be rewarded for it.

Demetri stood with his back towards me. The body of the man broken at his feet. Outside, a storm raged. The smell of blood was now mixed with fire and growls erupted everywhere as our guard eradicated the newborns. I should help them. Make sure nobody got hurt. Chelsea was out there, and Nick. But I could not move.

My eyes were glued to my husbands back. My husband, who just killed a man with his bare hands. Was I appalled by that? Did my love for him change because of it? I searched my feelings, but everything was all jumbled up inside.

A small noise came from the back of my throat. Not quite a sob and not quite a cry.

Slowly, Demetri turned. The look on his face careful, as if he wasn’t sure if I would accuse him. His expression changed when he saw the terror in my eyes. It became apologetic.

“I’m sorry”, he said softly, his low voice filled with remorse. “I forgot how new this all is for you. I could not let him live.”

Vehemently I shook my head. “I know”, my answer came in a rush. “It’s just …” I swirled around, not really seeing anything, but gesturing around me anyway, “This is all my fault.”

“No!” He was before me in an instant, carefully lifting my chin, so I could look him in the eye.

“No”, he said again, whispering this time.

“If I had erased his memory, he would not have told them we knew about the army.”

“Than it is my fault, for I didn’t give you that time.”

I shook my head, but he took my face in his hands and pressed his forehead against mine. “Please, don’t take this guilt, it is not yours.”

A dry sob escaped me, but then I sensed someone running towards the house and we both straightened. I guessed it was a good thing vampires couldn’t cry, so there was no evidence of my distress. Whomever it was that was almost upon us, they would not see me this broken.

Demetri moved me behind him and crouched down, ready to jump at anyone who was our enemy.

The door swung open, leaving the hinges behind as it flew right passed us. The vampire that stood before us missed a piece of his chin, which made my nose curl up.

His blood red eyes shot to the body of the dead man in the corner and he practically ignored us as he coiled for a jump. Demetri hesitated not one second. He sprang, locked his legs around the newborn’s back, took the marble head in his arms and with one, fierce pull, cracked it straight off. Before the body even hit the ground, he pulled at the arms, like an angry child who ripped of the limbs of a Barbie doll. The fight was over before I had the chance to take a step in his direction. In a strange way it awed me to see Demetri like this. The sort of death of the evil vampire didn’t affect me half as much as the death of the caretaker had done. It could have something to do with the lack of blood this time.

Demetri pulled something from one of his pockets. A lighter. He took my hand, brought me out of the house and lit the pieces of vampire on fire. They burned like dry grass.

Around us, more shacks were burning and everywhere guards in their gray and black outfits dashed around, gathering parts of broken newborns. I caught a glimpse of Aro, standing in the midst of all the chaos. Renata behind him and Jane at his side. One corner of his mouth was slightly turned up, as if he was enjoying himself, but didn’t want anyone to know.

I wanted to go to them, but my gaze fell on the castle and I remembered how there had been children inside. At least four of them at all times. They were most likely dead, but I had to make sure. So, when Demetri took a step forward, I pulled him back and pointed up to where the dark walls casted even darker shadows.

“They’re not there.”

“I know, but the children might be.” Some strange part of my brain even wondered if the dog still lived.

“There could be more vampires waiting for us.”

“We’ll be careful. Please, I have to know.”

He sighed, but changed direction. We ran, but stayed alert. The sweet smell of blood was less here, which gave me hope. Both of the heavy, wooden doors stood wide open, one even a little mangled. Iron casting imprinted with fist marks, as if it was mere clay.

Inside we slowed to a halt and listened. Everything was torn apart. The door to the small sitting room we were in, not so long ago, lay a fey feet away. No light came from that direction, but my eyes could see the damage done there. It looked like Vladimir and Stefan had simply locked their army inside the castle. Telling them to stay there until they were freed to wrack havoc. It surprised me they had listened to the small, ancient Romanians. They hadn’t seemed to have gifts when I met them.

Constantly smelling around, we slowly walked up the stairs to the second floor. There was no one there. Back downstairs I suddenly halted. Somewhere near the back, my ears had picked up a whining. Not human. I raced to where the sound originated, Demetri on my heals. As we came closer, my nose picked up the scent we had been looking for all along. It came from below the castle. A bolted door led to a cellar, where the scent of human fear was masked by that of meat that hung from the ceiling and the dog that yelped as we stepped into the open room.

I wondered why there was so much food inside, until I realized it must have been for the children. They were indeed children. Teenagers, just like the girl I had seen, the girl that had been offered to us as sustenance. I shuddered. One boy and two girls eyed us with terror leaking through every pore. My perfected smell told me they must have been here for days. It tore at my hart to have to tell them they were probably the sole survivors of the entire village. There was irony for you.

“Don’t be afraid.” I held up my hands, but my thoughtless command immediately lessened their distress.

“We have to take them away from here and erase their minds.”

Demetri looked at me and sighed. To him, these humans meant nothing, I could see it in his eyes. They were less than pets to him. Yet, for me, he nodded.

“Don’t scream”, I urged the three, just to make sure, then I took the youngest girl in my strong arms, watched as Demetri threw the two others over his shoulders and took off.

We brought them to the edge of a neighboring village. Their bodies shook as we put them down, but my command still worked. There was no real fear in their eyes.

“Now listen closely”, I said, looking at each of them to make sure they would obey. “You will forget all the horror you have seen, you will forget vampires even exist. You got lost in the woods, you have no family and need a new place to live.” I took a moment to see the daze in their eyes, that showed my command had worked. They blinked, but in that time Demetri and I ran back into the forest. From a distance I watched how the three looked at each other. Unsure of what just happened. In the end, the boy shrugged and took the lead. The last thing I saw was how they disappeared between the houses.

The sky was beginning to lighten, announcing the beginning of a sunrise.

We hurried back to the village that was completely annihilated. All the running had seized, and the group we arrived with, now stood around a fire that was far to big to be nice. Not only the newborn vampires lay there, turning to dust, also the human bodies, ripped to pieces, were discarded, leaving no evidence of the carnage. As my eyes raked the silent witnesses, I unconsciously counted them.

There were a few missing.

I looked at Aro’s profile, as he stared into the flames. His suit was no longer impeccable, one arm showed a huge tear in the black fabric.

Who was missing?

Taking a shakily step forward, I started searching. The large frame of Felix eyed us from across the fire. Jane and her brother stood hand in hand next to their master, but one shadow was lacking.

“Renata …”

Next to me, Demetri softly added: “Santiago, Miles, Victor.”

I didn’t know those names. I felt guilty for the relief I felt when I saw Chelsea and Afton standing side by side. Had the lost one’s been Demetri’s friends? I looked sideways, but saw no great sorrow on his face. I followed his gaze and saw a flash of a nod Nick gave him, before he looked back into the fire.

Again I was confronted with the slashes of remorse. When we left for the castle, Renata was still alive. Could we have prevented her death if we hadn’t gone after the human children? Would they blame us, blame me, for wanting to safe them?

I wanted to leave, get away from this place. The last few days had permanently scarred my soul, if I even had one left. This was not what I had signed up for when I came to Italy.

“Please”, I didn’t care who overheard my plea, “let me go home.”

Aro turned around, scrunched his eyes, but nodded. Demetri didn’t need any more encouragement, he lifted me up in his arms and ran.

\---

As the wind flew passed us, I buried my head in his neck. He never stopped, not even when the sun came up. Under the cover of trees and in the shadow of mountains, he ran until we could no longer hide from the rays of light. By then we were at a garage with a keypad to which he knew the code. Inside were cars with dark windows and he gently helped me inside.

I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t and hated it. I wanted to hit something, but controlled the urge. I would only wreck another Maserati.

Demetri drove us straight to his house, our house. Had we only been married for two short weeks? The wedding seemed a lifetime ago. There was a garage build in the back of the house, where the wall began. It opened when Demetri pushed the buttons of a control panel. The sun never toughed our skin, keeping us hidden from the curious inhabitants of Volterra.


	16. Chapter 16

We sat in silence for a long time, until finally Demetri opened the doors, pulled me out and took me upstairs to the bathroom. I knew my eyes were empty as he drew me a bath and undressed me gently. I didn’t dare to look at him, afraid of what I might see. His actions spoke of no anger, but he must be a little upset with me, right? If I had stayed by Aro’s side I could have ordered anyone away who tried to hurt us. I could have …

“I should have been there.” My whisper was barely audible. The strange perfection of my altered voice irritated me, I should sound broken.

“Come.” Demetri took my hand and led me into the water. I hadn’t noticed he had taken of his clothes as well. The bathtub was large enough for the both of us and as he sat behind me, the hot water burned my icy skin. I welcomed the strain.

His strong arms surrounded me, muscles reminding me of his fight with the newborn vampire. I tensed.

“Relax, _agapitós_” came his soothing voice near my ear.

I tried, but I wasn’t quite ready yet to discard the blame.

I saved three children, but four of us were lost because of that. At least, that is what my troubled mind told me. I couldn’t even think about all the men and woman that had died. Either by becoming monsters or being killed by those monsters.

I knew that no matter what I would say, Demetri would contradict it, so I remained silent.

After a while, his hand began to move, first up and down my arms. His lips pressed soft kisses on my shoulder, pushing my damp hair out of the way with his nose. If I could have, I would have gotten goosebumps all over my skin, instead I closed my eyes.

His left hand cupped a breast as his right moved down between my thighs. I didn’t want to relax. I didn’t want to feel better. I wanted to feel every bit of guilt I thought I deserved, but his movements made it impossible not to enjoy myself.

However before I got too carried away, I turned. The thin lines of his lips parting a little as he took in my frantic look.

“How can you ignore this?” I asked, desperation distorting my voice.

“Ariadne …”

“Because I can’t. I’ve seen so many terrible things these last few days and I don’t even want to be able to process it, but there is so much space in my mind. I can think about every tiny little detail and it fills me with so much horror. And you, you just sit there and ask me to relax and go back to how things were, but I can’t.”

I was on my knees, his feet on either side of me. He leaned forward, but didn’t touch me.

“I know this is difficult for you. Your life has been so sheltered, so normal and all of a sudden you are thrown into this messy half life and you didn’t even chose this.” He collected himself and continued a bit more composed: “I know you feel guilty, but what happened is not your fault.”

“It’s not?” I made to object, but this time he grabbed my wrists.

“It’s not. You came here to learn the rules, you heard them. Vladimir and Stefan broke those rules and in doing that, caused a lot of trouble. All that has happened is because of them. I am sorry you got caught up in the process, but you knew my role in all of this.”

“So, you’re saying I should have stayed at home? Not come along at all?”

“If you had, I’d have been dead by now.” He spoke those words very softly, immediately vaporising my angry outburst.

Seeing that energy leave me, Demetri sat up on his knees as well and took my face in his hands. The water dripped from his fingers, catching the light that shone through the windows before they were engulfed by the small waves his movement created on the surface.

“Let it go”, he whispered. “All of it. The guilt, the anger, the pain. Don’t hold on to it, it will destroy you.” His lips barely touched mine as he continued: “You saved my life, again and again. You did good. So much good, even for those that are unworthy. If you hadn’t come along, many more would have died.”

This time his lips lingered on mine a bit longer. He moved slowly, pulling me more upright, so our bodies touched. I trembled and his arms wrapped around me.

“I cannot promise you this will never happen again. This chapter isn’t even over yet.”

My eyebrows raised as he leaned back a little to look at my reaction.

“They are still out there. I have to find them.”

A shock jolted through me. He was right. The Romanian vampires could cause the same amount of trouble all over again if they weren’t stopped. And my Demetri was the only one who could find them. No matter how much it frightened me, I already new that again, I would not stay behind.

“Let me make you feel better”, he coursed me with his velvet voice, one hand following the curves down from my collarbone, between my breasts, to my navel. His charming smile, tilted head and slightly raised eyebrows took away the last bit of protest that still lingered in my mind. I exhaled and he grinned victoriously as he stood, picked me up and carried me to the bedroom.

\---

Inside the Volturi manor everything was quiet. I guessed everyone needed some time to recuperate, or perhaps they didn’t and things just went back to normal for all of them. Demetri and I walked over to the large room, where Aro awaited us.

What he had to say, however, startled me.

“We have received a somewhat surprising message from our dear friend Carlisle.”

I looked sideways to Demetri, who cocked his head as if to listen for something only he could hear. Perhaps he did. Considering his gift worked with sound waves none of the others could hear.

Aro waited for him, like a teacher encouraging his pupil to figure out the answer on his own.

“They are in Alaska?” Demetri finally stated with a questioning ring to his voice.

“Yes, the family now resides in Petersville. Carlisle was concerned for the safety of his family. I doubt he would have called otherwise.” The sneer on Aro’s face made me uncomfortable.

“It seems our old enemies took refuge there. Hoping to do more damage, no doubt.”

Caius, as always sitting on his throne, looking arrogant, didn’t waste many words in giving his order. “Find them and kill them.”

Marcus, as if he felt he too had to be involved, almost drawled: “Let this be finished, once and for all.”

Demetri lifted his chin, nodded once, looked my way and motioned for me to follow him. We went directly to the gym, where he picked up Felix. Jane and Alec were the next ones on his list and though I didn’t like the idea of traveling with those two, I knew they were the best choice.

We ran to the airport and it almost felt like a deja vu when we boarded the small aircraft.

Demetri had filled the others in on our mission and then there was nothing other to do, but sit and wait.

I tried to ignore Jane, but every now and then my treacherous eyes looked her way. When they did, she shot daggers at me. Some small part of me wanted to ask what her problem was. Did she just dislike me this much because of my eyes? We had fed during our run to France. I couldn’t call what they did hunting, though in fact that was exactly what it was. The lingering scent of human blood had caused my throat to burn when Demetri had returned to my side. He’d been very considerate in not kissing me right after that.

Perhaps she blamed me for the losses we suffered in Romania, just like I did. Or was she jealous of me for some reason? I couldn’t imagine what about, though.

It was a boring flight. Felix and Alec were just as silent and I was beginning to wonder if Demetri had been like this before we met. After a while I stood up and went to sit with him in the co-pilots seat. I shut the door behind me, even though that could not keep the others from hearing us.

He smiled at me with his charming smile. All calm and ease, like we weren’t on a mission to exterminate two ancient vampires. His eyes seemed to ask: you okay? and I nodded.

After the mental breakdown I’d suffered when we had returned home, I had found solace in my husbands arms. The hurt still lingered, but the petrifying ache was gone now.

This time the mission should be easier. No villagers, no army, at least that’s what we hoped. Apparently Aro had kept in touch with Carlisle. He had told him that there had been no sudden bursts of violence. So it was simply us against them. What did they hope to accomplish by hiding in Alaska? Had they not been in league with the Cullens the last time they met. Why would they put them in danger? Or did they think the family would stand with them as they once stood with the Cullens? That was hardly the same, hence the call Carlisle made.

Would we meet the Cullens? I hoped not. The enmity between that family and my new one still existed. I meant them no harm, but it would not be a good idea for both parties to meet.

It surprised me than, when Demetri opted, a little less than an hour before we would land in Petersville: “You can stay behind, if you want. With the plane, or even with the Cullens, if you feel safer there.”

A high pitched hiss reached our ears from behind the closed door, but we ignored it.

Knowing Demetri’s dislike for them, it really surprised me he offered this way out. “Why? Do you think the job will be easy?” Did he think he didn’t need me? Or the opposite, would it be so dangerous, that he wanted me out of the way?

He pursed his lips, took a moment to ponder and then replied: “I know you don’t want to leave me, but it is probably something you do not wish to see. Not after everything.”

“Do you want me to stay away?”

He pressed a few buttons, probably setting the plane to auto-pilot, and turned my way. Taking my hands in his, he stared deep into my eyes and said: “I will always want you near me, but I also want what’s best for you. I will return safely, I promise, and I won’t be far away. Go to the Cullens and I will come and get you when we are done.”

I mulled over his words for quite some time, changing my mind at least a dozen time. By the end of the ride, I figured Demetri was right. I really didn’t want to see more fighting and ripping.

When he landed the plane and looked at me, I sighed and nodded. “But if you need me, you must call.”

He fished an old model cellphone from one of his pockets and showed it to me.

“You have a cellphone?” My eyebrows almost touched the roof of the cockpit. Somehow the idea that my thousand year old husband had a mobile phone seemed ridiculous. After even a few days in the carefree village of Volterra, the world had seemed to move back in time. The little silver device made me realize how different my life had become in less than a month. I didn’t count the five years I had lived like an animal. That kind of embarrassed me.

I stood up from my seat, made to open the door, but was shoved against it instead. Demetri’s body pinned me down and his hands made a mess of my carefully brushed curls as his lips devoured me. I recognized the need. We had little time, the others were waiting, but I didn’t want to let him go any more than he wanted to release me.

A short ruffle on the door finally broke us apart. No heavy breathing, no sped up heartbeat. I still felt sorry for the loss of those fervent emotions.

\---

Outside, a human man came up to us, inquiring after the reason for the landing. Before anyone could offer an explanation or kill the man, I stepped up and told the man everything was fine. He left satisfied and I received a little begrudging nod of approval from Alec. It almost made me reconsider staying with them.

Demetri took the time to determine our heading, then we took of. It was night, so we made a good time and arrived at the border of the Cullen territory before dawn.

We were greeted by a rather large party, whom I all recognized, except for two.

They didn’t seem as surprised as I was, to see us, although my presence did seem to raise a few eyebrows. Edward stared at my husband with open distaste and Esmee eyed our joined hands with curiosity. Carlisle was with them and he was the one who stepped forward. His palms up in a friendly manner.

“Thank you for coming so swiftly. Aro told me about what had happened in Romania, we do not want that here.”

“Could you not have taken care of them yourself?” It was the first time I heard Jane speak since our little debacle.

It appeared Carlisle had a lot more patience with the girl than most, because he lowered his head a little and calmly replied: “That is not our way. We expect you to pass an honest judgment.” He emphasized on the ‘you’. It was a very diplomatic answer.

Would they accept my request to stay with them? I looked for a friendly face and smiled back a little when I saw Esmee nod at me. The two new golden eyed vampires stood a little to the back, not as hostile as Edward or Emmet, which gave me hope they would not throw me out.

Demetri turned towards me, and held my face with tender hands. He wore gloves and the leather smelled nice. We didn’t feel the cold, but I figured it was all part of the ruse. All the others were also dressed as one would expect in the northern hemisphere. My own short dress was covered by an expensive padded jacket with a large faux fur trim.

“Are you sure?” He asked, not caring how the Cullens reacted to this display of affection.

“Yes, go. Be careful. And call me.”

He kissed me softly on the lips, pulled one corner of his mouth in a small smile and then he was gone. Jane, Alec and Felix had also disappeared and I was alone with the Cullens. I stared after Demetri for as long as I could, then I looked at the family.

Their expressions had turned a little less tense, now that the Volturi guards were gone. Would they accept my allegiance to them? To my husband?

“You married him?” Edward bristled and equal expressions of shock appeared on all their faces.

Immediately I remembered the mind reading thing. Being already on edge, it didn’t take me long to get angry and I yelled: “Don’t ever read my mind again.”

With satisfaction I watched as Edward straightened, blinked and then narrowed his eyes. “What have you done to me?”

The alarm on Carlisle’s face rained me in a bit, but wasn’t I within my right to keep anyone from invading my privacy? I shrugged and said, calmer now: “I warned you before not to read my mind.”

“Edward?” His so called father eyed him concerned.

“It’s … nothing. I’m fine. Apparently she … ordered me not to read her mind again.”

I wondered if he had seen the gift I had come to embrace, in the short time he had read my mind, but he didn’t say anything else, so I guessed not.

“Come, let’s go back to the house. I don’t like being divided now that Vladimir and Stefan are here.”

Carlisle had not even finished speaking and Edward had already bolted. Probably because his wife and child were back at the house. The rest of us followed at a slower pace.

The new girl was to my right as we ran through the woods, the sun on it’s way up above the clouds. She was pretty and petite. Her hair as black as my own but cut short. She reminded me a bit of the fairy stories I read about as a teenager. Was this Alice? The one they had told me about. The one who saw the future? It certainly explained how they knew we were coming.

In the distance a house loomed. It was huge, all wood and glass and filled with vampires who wanted nothing to do with me.

I wished with all my heart that Demetri would hurry.


	17. Chapter 17

“Ariadne?” Bella was the one who greeted me. Surprise in her voice.

I gazed swiftly at Alice. Hadn’t she told them I would come? Perhaps she couldn’t, because she didn’t know me before. To her it’d probably seemed like a normal party of the guard would come.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came with the Volturi.”

The answer confused the lovely girl whom I still had difficulty seeing as a mother. I figured Edward would enlighten her and indeed, not two seconds later, he announced: “She married Demetri.”

I narrowed my eyes. I was pretty sure my command made it impossible for him to read any more, but you never knew.

“What?” Bella now looked at me like I had gone crazy.

Irritated, I began walking to the door, saying: “Look, if you don’t want me here, I’ll go wait outside for his return.”

Esmee’s always friendly plea for me to stay and Emmet’s not so subtle comment of why I wasn’t with him anyway, came at the same time. It made me sigh, but I halted my steps.

“If you must know, I haven’t had that much training and have just seen a rather unpleasant carnage in Romania. I didn’t want to be far away from him, but I also don’t care to see more terror.”

No one knew what to say to that. After a few silent minutes I dropped down on the floor near the front door and stared at the carpet. I would wait here.

Not long after, however, someone sat down beside me. It was the thin fairy ballerina, Alice.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard so much about you. I wish I had known it was you I’d seen.”

“What did you see?” I asked, curious despite my reservations.

“Don’t worry, I don’t see many details. It’s not like knowing everything that happens to everyone. I simply saw a vision of us standing there, meeting you. I knew the others, but not you. Why did you marry Demetri?”

A quick glance around the room showed me Alice was not the only one wanting to know.

Should I tell them? I guessed it couldn’t hurt. After all, they were kind enough to let me stay, the least I could do was be honest.

“Marcus told me, when I arrived in Volterra. He saw a bond between us, Demetri and me. We both felt it. I guess we figured there was no use in delaying the inevitable.”

That might have sounded a bit to negative. So when Alice looked at me with a frown, I hastily added: “I love him. I know you all don’t like him, but he’s wonderful.”

A few snorts came from various locations in the house, but Alice giggled. “Well, I’m glad at least you didn’t choose Felix.”

At that, I barked a short laugh. “My thoughts exactly.”

The tension lessened somewhat after our little talk. Everyone went about their business, which mostly meant they sat down to read. Edward and Bella were buried in books. Were those schoolbooks?

When Alice didn’t leave her spot next to me, I asked: “Can you see anything?”

She knew what I meant, because her smile became apologetic. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to keep tabs on everything that will happen around this house. With my family. It’s difficult to see beyond that. And the future always changes. Every time someone makes a decision, it alters. I could see the phone ringing a minute back, but I’m not sure when.”

I tensed. What did that mean? That Demetri was in trouble? Did they need me? I should be out there with him, not here, being nothing but a nervous wreck.

Alice scrunched her face.

“What do you see now?”

She looked at me, worry written on her face. “I see you. But it’s not clear. It keeps changing. Are you thinking about going there?”

“Should I?” I wanted to rattle the girl for being so vague.

“No”, she replied, her voice distant now. All eyes were upon her again. How could they live like this?

“Not until he calls. If you go now, he …” She cut herself of, her eyes wide open.

“What? What happens, tell me.”

She blinked once and then replied: “He dies.”

I was halfway through the door, Alice yelling behind me, when a strong arm stopped me.

“Let me go”, I wailed. The hand let me go at once, but Edward’s voice kept me from bolting down the lane.

“I can no longer read your mind, but I can still read Alice’s. If you go now, he will die. Demetri will die.”

“No, you lie. You hate him, you want him to die.” My feet steered me a few feet forward, but doubts held me back.

“You have to trust me. Wait for the call.”

“I don’t believe you.” I turned and looked at him with piercing eyes. “Tell me the truth.”

“I am.” Edward’s breathing was labored, like he was in pain. He took a small step closer, held out his hand and urged: “If you go now, he will die. Wait for the call.”

Finally understanding what they were saying, I sank down. The snow came up to my middle, soaking my leggings and boots.

Nobody said a word, waiting for me to make a move.

When at last the phone rang, a loud, obnoxious sound, I was the only one who jumped up. I nearly crushed the device.

“Demetri?”

“Ariadne”, his voice was strained. “I need you to come.”

The phone line died before either of us could say another word. It was so obviously a trap that for a moment even I hesitated.

“You need to go, now”, Alice broke the silence.

“But …”

“I know, but you have no choice.”

I looked at her agonized expression and wondered what it was that she had seen.

“Will he live?” I hardly dared to ask and my voice was barely audible.

“Go, now”, she repeated. “And take the third.”

I didn’t need any more encouragement. I dropped the phone on the soft carpet, where it fell without a sound, and ran for the woods. His scent lingered and showed me the way. It only took me about half an hour, but then I ran straight into someone.

At first I thought it was Demetri, but the size was all wrong. Arms pulled mine back and a raspy voice near my ear scared the hell out of me as it said: “Fight me and your dear tracker dies.”

Instantly I stopped squirming. “Where is he, what have you done with him?”

“Tsjk tsjk child. All we need is a little cooperation. Start walking.”

I wanted to turn, to scream and kick, but the fear that I would be the cause of Demetri’s death because of a wrong command stilled me. Was this what Alice had seen? Would they come and rescue us if things went wrong? I didn’t dare to hope. And where were the others? Felix and the twins. They couldn’t have been all captured, they were much too powerful.

“What have you done with the others?”

A hand wrapped around my throat, blocking my speech.

“They had a run in with some rather lovely boulders. Don’t worry, they won’t get in our way.”

I wanted them to get in our way. Were they dead? Or trapped? Demetri’s smell got stronger as we moved through the thick forest. Pines blocked my view all around us and right in front of us, a mountain loomed.

All of a sudden, two figures appeared to our left. Their red eyes shook my confidence even more. So they had created new vampires. How many? What would they do? They looked at me with rage, crazy with thirst, there probably weren’t many humans around for them to feed on. How did the Romanians control them?

Control.

That was it. The hand that hindered my windpipe was in the way, I had to move fast. What could I do that gave me the edge I needed? I only had one chance and I took it.

I threw my hips back, forcing the vampire behind me to release my throat. A flurry of ash blond hair caught my eye. So this was Vladimir. I locked eyes with the nearest newborn and yelled: “Get him of me!”

He instantly obeyed. As soon as I was free, I ran in the direction of the mountain. Demetri was there. However the second newborn was way faster and pulled me down to the ground. I gasped, petrified, but then I yelled: “Stop!” right before he could punch me in the face. The fist froze, mere inches from my nose. Should I order him to come with me? No, I had a better idea. “Go find the other vampires and help them.”

He got off me and I quickly jumped away. I needed to stay ahead of Vladimir. This was my chance to get to Demetri before he did.

I gave it my all. Ran like I had never run before. The mountainside came closer and closer and all of a sudden I was there. There was a cave. I didn’t even stop. The dark narrow passage was no problem for my vampire eyes.

My sprint ended when I got to a clearing. The sound of water trickling down distracted me for an instant. But what threw me of were the three entrances in front of me. Which one should I take?

The hairs in the back of my neck stood on end as sounds in the distance threatened to take away my head start. I tried to smell which way I had to go, but I would not have enough time to enter all three passages to check. A second passed and my mind had already gone over a thousand possibilities. Two seconds and I was ready to scream.

Then, all of a sudden, something Alice ’d said jumped in my mind. ‘Take the third.’ At he moment I’d ignored it, but now I could kiss her.

Before Vladimir was upon me, I hurried through the third narrow entrance. The passage became smaller and smaller, and it slowed me down. It was long, but Demetri’s smell got stronger and that gave me strength.

Stefan had not bothered to lighten the cave that lay at the end of the passage. His hands held Demetri’s face in a death grip. Abhorred I saw how his arms lay on the floor, he was like a broken statue, but he was alive. I could see his eyes move frantically.

“Let him go!” I yelled, flying out of the passage without thinking twice. Movement to my left made me swirl, but I had learned from previous times and screamed ‘freeze’ a dozen times, until all three newborns were as still as the rocks beside them.”

Stefan’s face was screwed, his eyes filled with hatred, but also fear. His hold on Demetri was gone, but without his arms, there was not much my husband could do.

His eyes, however, were filled with hope and to my surprise, he called: “Reattach them.”

“What?”

“My arms, they will heal, just put them back.”

For a second I stood as frozen as the enemy vampires. My ears registered that the footsteps that had followed me, were now gone. Had Vladimir left? Did he know they had lost?

My hands trembled as I pulled the torn fabric away from Demetri’s chest. The scraps of cloth on the arm I hardly dared to pick up fell off on their own. Like a piece of a puzzle, I pressed the broken shoulder back against Demetri’s torso and with wide eyes I saw how the marble skin began to heal almost instantly. The crack disappeared. As soon as it was completely gone, Demetri moved his fingers. He flexed his muscles, moved his shoulder up and down a few times and then grabbed his other arm. With a swift motion, he reattached it. The minute both his arms worked again, he stood up and turned slowly towards Stefan. The dark red eyes of the ancient one clinched. I could see he didn’t want to go out without a fight, but my command held him in place. I forced myself to look as Demetri ripped the arms of Stefan’s body with a sickening crunch. There was a flicker in Demetri’s eyes that kind of scared me. I kept my mouth shut, however, knowing this piece of vengeance was part of the justice that would have been served anyway.

The last thing I saw of Stefan was his open mouth, silently screaming in horror that ended with a loud pop. The newborns suffered the same fate, although less deliberate.

My eyes shut for a moment when Demetri lit a fire that destroyed them once and for all.

“One down”, Demetri muttered.

He didn’t look me in the eye, but took my hand and pulled me out of the mountain.

Outside he hesitated for a sliver of a second, and then turned to the left. Movement ahead made me falter, but Demetri didn’t slow down, so I was forced to race head first into what ever lay ahead. I should have known not to be afraid. It wasn’t Vladimir that Demetri was tracking, it was Felix. The remnants of two more newborns lay at his feet and behind him the twins stood hand in hand. Jane frantically dusting herself off. A large set of boulders lay scattered, as if they were thrown around in haste. My command, I realized.

“What happened here?” Demetri asked his friend as soon as we reached them.

The giant actually seemed relieved when he spotted us. “We were trapped when they brought an avalanche down on us. It took me some time to heal from the cracks, but by then someone was pulling stones away. At first I thought it was you, but then we saw him.” He motioned to the pile of body parts.

They both frowned and then turned my way.

“You did this?” Alec finally asked, looking at me with a new sort respect.

I could only nod. The whole ordeal had left me bereft of speech.

“Thank you.”

“Are there others?”

I turned towards Felix, waiting for the same answer.

“I don’t know, we never saw who hit us. The other one jumped us when I was fighting the first one, but Jane took care of him.

I saw her smug smile, but the fiery hatred had left when I caught her expression.

“So, only Vladimir, than. Let’s go get him.”

Without further questioning we followed Demetri to where the last of our foe’s awaited. Behind us a second fire devoured the remnants of vampire corpses.

The tracking took us back to the Cullen house and as we entered the clearing, a strange sight awaited us. Vladimir stood in the middle of a circle, all vampires crouched low. One massive wolf amongst them. The ancient vampire was surrounded, his doom impending. When he spotted us he tried to break free one last time, but as his eyes crossed mine, I spoke, softly this time: “Don’t move.”

“You will pay for what you did”, he spat.

“Don’t speak”, I commanded and his mouth clamped shut.

Edward straightened up first, the others a bit weary, but he said: “It’s alright, she controls him.”

“Interesting”, I heard Carlisle mutter. He reminded me of Aro in that moment.

The Cullens moved back as Felix moved forward. It was hardly fair. Vladimir couldn’t speak any last words, had no way to escape his fate and with the same silent scream, he too seized to exist. A last fire burned in front of the house and we all stood there and watched.

In the end, when the flames subsided, Carlisle looked up and said: “If there are any more newborns, we will take care of them.”

Demetri looked his way and nodded. His eyes lingered a bit on Alice, who smiled at me and then he also looked my way.

“Ready to go home?” His voice was tentative, as if he was afraid he might have gone too far this time.

“Yes”, I managed to breathe. My head turned to the family, who now stood together, no longer hostile, as if they knew we all entered a new chapter. We worked together, eliminating a threat to us all. Perhaps this would heal some of the wounds that had been inflicted years ago.

“Thank you”, I softly said and tried to smile.

Alice bounced over to me, not one bit afraid of Demetri who narrowed his eyes at her. She hugged me and whispered in my ear: “You’ll be fine. You both will be.” Then she let me go and moved back to her family.

I didn’t know if I would ever see them again. For now I had seen enough of the world. The only thing I wanted was to go back to Volterra and not leave the peace and quiet for a very long time.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the final chapter.  
Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and I hope you will enjoy this ending as much as the rest.

We reached the plane before sunset. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel like screaming my head of, this time.

It might have something to do with the way they all kept looking at me. It made me a bit uncomfortable, but also strangely comforted.

Felix flew the plane this time and Demetri never let go of my hand after he put on a new shirt. I sensed he wanted to do a lot more than hold my hand, but that was impossible at the moment. The twins sat across from us and having learned they were in fact even older than Demetri, didn’t ease my conscious. You don’t make out in front of children.

In a way, I felt rather sorry for them. They would always be this. Barely teenagers, never old enough to form a romantic relationship.

Demetri had summarized what had happened in one short sentence. ‘Ariadne saved me’ was all he’d said. And so we flew home, a little anxious, a little on edge. I couldn’t quite believe it was all over now. Something akin to adrenaline kept invading my system. Every once in a while my head would jerk to the side, if some bird flew past the window some miles away. Or someone moved an inch. Every time that happened, Demetri squeezed my hand, reassuring me he was right there.

I fervently hoped we would have the next hundred years off.

Instead of waiting for a car that would take us home, we used our superhuman speed. Choosing for getting back faster, rather than enjoying the luxury of a ride. No one objected, when I asked if we could run.

We ran straight back to the manor. I wondered if Carlisle ‘d called ahead, letting Aro know what had happened. Probably not. Even though the animosities had lessened somewhat, I doubted if either party would willingly speak to the other.

Aro would want to know everything. He would take all our hands and read all our minds. Somehow that didn’t bother me so much anymore. I knew my powers now, I could control what he would read. And if he would force me somehow to make him, or anyone immune, like I had done with Demetri, he would find out exactly what I could do. I doubted he would risk that.

\---

The five of us moved straight to the room where the ancients were waiting. I wondered if they were truly the eldest in the world now.

My previous suspicions proved correct, when Aro rose from his throne and eagerly took Jane’s hands in his, after kissing her fatherly on the forehead. Without a word, but with something of a gleeful frown on his face, he moved over to Alec and then to Felix. I doubted their stories were very different from one another.

The look Aro gave me, confirmed my earlier thoughts about how awed they all were. Would Aro fear me now? As Demetri once said?

It was our turn next, but this time Aro didn’t just hold out his hand. He looked at me, as he asked: “May I?” His hand wavered in front of Demetri and I could hear the soft, surprised murmurings of the others in the room.

“You have to ask him”, I answered, still feeling weary.

Demetri thought for a second, but then extended his hand. He too, was taken aback by Aro’s consideration.

“Only read what you need to know”, I softly added, looking Aro in the eye, right before he took Demetri’s hand.

He inhaled, and closed his eyes.

As his expression turned more grim, I wondered what he saw. What had happened to my husband in the time between his capture and the moment I came bursting through the entrance of the cave? Did I want to know? I doubted it. Seeing his arms ripped off was bad enough, I didn’t need to know what other horrible things might have happened.

Aro was done quickly, ensuring me he had indeed obeyed my command and only read through the thoughts of the last few days. When he opened his eyes, creases in the papery skin between his eyes, made me wonder what he was thinking. Would he want to know my story? Or had he seen enough? There wasn’t really anything I could add to make the story more complete.

His clouded eyes bore into mine and I could see the struggle behind them. To ask me for my thoughts, or to indulge me. Keeping on my good side. Did it frighten him how I controlled his age old enemies? How I kept them from moving and screaming as they were slowly torn from limb to limb?

After what had seemed like an eternity, he moved back, a smile reappearing on his face. “It seems we owe you a great debt of gratitude”, he spoke with a raspy voice.

He moved back to his throne and sat down, his features a perfect mask of ease.

“Our dear friends would not have returned if Ariadne had not been there. And our enemies would have eluded us once again. Thank you, child.”

I nodded, all the while wishing we were done. I didn’t need a reward, I didn’t want them all to congratulate me, I just wanted to submerge myself in the bathtub. For a week.

“Can we go?” I managed to whisper, making Demetri pull me close.

Aro nodded. This time his smile was genuine. “Go, you have earned your peace.”

\---

We had to walk slowly. The sun shone bright above us and many people enjoyed the last days of heat before the fall would bring the rain.

Once we were in the house, Demetri turned to me and lifted my chin.

“Are you alright?” His eyes showed concern.

I thought about what Alice had said. That I would be alright and sighed. “I will be. I just … need some time, I guess.”

“What can I do?”

His movements were careful, as if he feared I would fall apart again. I thought for a moment about what I wanted. Did I want him to worry? To handle me with care? Or did I want him to act like nothing had happened? Like he hadn’t almost lost his life? Like he hadn’t been ripped apart and put back together again?

Tentatively I touched his shoulder, as if I could feel a tear through the fabric of his shirt. He slowly pulled it over his head and allowed me to examen the skin. There was absolutely no sign of any damage. My fingers caressed his shoulder, until he grabbed my hand. When I looked him in the eyes, I saw desperation burn and a small sound escaped me.

We were in the bedroom in less then a second, haste made us negligent and pieces of clothing soon covered the floor. My hands roamed every part of his body, as if I needed reassurance that he was entirely here. In turn he did his utmost to make me forget these past days.

The room turned dark and then light again as the sun announced a new day. With it finally came a little bit of the peace I so desperately needed.

\---

Demetri took me hunting. Our adventure had bereft us of a lot of energy and we needed new strength.

“Can I leave you?” He asked me, after he’d watched me take down a large brown bear.

“Yes”, I answered, looking around me. He would not feed in the area, but I knew he would make haste to return to me.

When he left, a short flash of panic took me by surprise and I hurried back to our house. It would probably take me some time to be completely rid of the consequences of seeing so much violence. I really didn’t want to get used to it, but I also didn’t want to be reminded of it every time something startled me.

I walked over to a mirror. Perhaps I could make myself forget.

I stared at myself for a really long time.

The front gate opened and closed, the door followed and all of a sudden I was wrapped up in a strong embrace again.

“I might try that animal thing next time. Being away from you caused more trouble than human blood is worth”, Demetri growled near my ear, before pressing his lips against my neck.

A fond smile turned up the corners of my mouth. I doubted he actually would, but I understood his predicament.

“What are you doing?” he asked, eying me curiously, after taking his fill.

“I was wondering if I should make myself forget everything.”

He frowned, but didn’t immediately responded.

“When you left …”, I swallowed a lump, “the panic rose so quickly. I don’t want to feel that way all the time.”

“You won’t”, he promised, burying his nose in my hair again. “The frenzy will pass, in time you will even forget.”

“How much time?” I asked, my breath hitching.

“Faster if you replace the memories with pleasant one’s.” His grin appeared in the mirror next to my face and I bit my lip.

He was right. If I made myself forget, I would also loose the things I’d learned. How much I loved Demetri, how much I needed to live every precious moment with him.

\---

Alice turned out to be correct. After a while, the urge to stay together like pieces of Velcro lessened. The troubling images in my mind moved to the back of my head, slowly fading.

During the daytime we stayed in the house. Enjoying the quiet, loitering, and doing other stuff. When the sun went down we usually sought our way to the manor. As promised, Demetri taught me how to fight. Most of the times Nick was there to, helping me as sparring partner, allowing Demetri to walk around us, putting my hands and feet in the right position, distracting me terribly when he did. After a while Felix joined him, giving me pointers, goading me with friendly sneers, until I told him to shut up.

Word had gotten around about this new vampire Aro had drafted. The one with the ability to control someone’s mind. The one who had singlehandedly ended the last vampires of the old Romanian coven. No matter how true the rumors were, it was enough to keep everyone on their best behavior.

I knew it couldn’t last, but I would take whatever leisure time we got.

After a few weeks, Demetri surprised me with plane tickets to Australia. We took our time traveling the world, visiting all the places that had once been on my bucket list.

My new life made it possible to add so many more locations. We stood on the very tip of the world, swam down the Mariana Trench until even our eyes couldn’t see anymore and climbed the highest mountain to the point where no human ever walked.

Time slowed down after a few decades. It didn’t matter anymore what year it was. I began to enjoy following courses, learning new languages and things like Math.

From time to time Demetri was sent on a mission and I would go with him. He tracked, I commanded, it got to be almost routine. Yet I never became bored with my life.

Every time Demetri held me close, it felt like the first time. He could still make me shiver, whispering in my ear, sneaking up on me in the library. I loved how he remained the same classy gentleman I fell in love with even before I knew of our bond.

No matter how many years we presumably had, seconds lasted so much longer and they held so much more worth, now that I had someone to spend them with. They would never be enough.

Time was a funny thing indeed.

_The end_


End file.
